Catharism describes medieval dualist religious movements that flourished especially in southern France and northern Italy during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries.
Beliefs
Cathar groups varied, but many taught a radical opposition between the spiritual and material realms. Some attributed the visible world to an evil principle, rejected or reinterpreted the sacraments, and practised a rigorous asceticism among an initiated elite.
Christian response
The Church opposed Cathar dualism by affirming one good Creator of all things visible and invisible, the genuine Incarnation of the Son, and the goodness of creation. Attempts at preaching and debate were followed by coercive campaigns and inquisitorial procedures whose history remains morally and politically complex.