Manichaeism was a Gnostic inspired faith that emerged in the Middle East during the second century and during it's peak stretched from Europe all the way to western China.
However it was heavily persecuted by every single other major faith and wiped out by the 14th century.
But what if it had survived well into the present day? How would it have survived?
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My vague idea on this is that Manichaeism survived in China alongside the other faiths, being viewed as a version of Buddhism. Much later during European contact, the Orientalists took a keen interest in the Manichaean faith, causing it to be reintroduced to the West. During Mao's reign the Manichee's were persecuted, but Modern Communist China is trying to promote the faith as an alternative to the foreign Christian churches.
However it was heavily persecuted by every single other major faith and wiped out by the 14th century.
But what if it had survived well into the present day? How would it have survived?
---
My vague idea on this is that Manichaeism survived in China alongside the other faiths, being viewed as a version of Buddhism. Much later during European contact, the Orientalists took a keen interest in the Manichaean faith, causing it to be reintroduced to the West. During Mao's reign the Manichee's were persecuted, but Modern Communist China is trying to promote the faith as an alternative to the foreign Christian churches.