Definition of: Manicheism

(man′ə·kē′iz·əm) noun
A dualistic religious philosophy developed by the Persian Manes and his followers in which goodness, typified as light, God, or the soul, is represented as in conflict with evil, typified by darkness, Satan, or the body: taught from the third to the seventh century. Also Man′i·chae′ism.
—Man′i·che′an, Man′i·chae′an adjective & noun