a religious movement outlook or system, esp of various cults of the late pre-Christian and early Christian era, distinguished by the conviction that matter is evil and that emancipation comes through esoteric spiritual knowledge
Gnosticism is the term used for a range of religious and philosophical beliefs that claim secret knowledge, conferring power and/or salvation. Gnostic influences were found both in Judaism and in early Christianity. It tended to devalue the physical and to promote speculation about, or mystical union with, spiritual beings or levels of reality — Dr Mel Thompson
Gnostic noun and adj
[via late Latin from Greek gnōstikos of knowledge, from gignōskein to know]