Catharism

Long, long ago, between the years 1100 and 1300, there was a group of people in places like France and Italy who called themselves the 'Good Christians'. They were also known as Cathars. They believed that the world we live in, with all its stuff, was made by a not-so-good god, and the sky world, with angels, was made by a super good god.

It was like having two bosses, one for the playground and one for the stars!

These 'Good Christians' had some very different ideas from other people at the time. They thought that people's souls were like trapped angels who had to keep coming back to Earth over and over again until they were good enough to go back to the sky world. To help them get there, they had a special ceremony when someone was very sick, like a special goodbye hug that helped their soul fly free.

The main church at the time, the Catholic Church, did not agree with the Cathars' beliefs. They thought the Cathars were wrong and called them 'heretics'. This caused a lot of problems. The church even sent soldiers to fight against the Cathars, which was called a crusade. It was a very sad time, and many Cathars were hurt or worse.

Because of the fighting and the church's strong feelings, the Cathars' way of believing slowly disappeared. By the year 1350, there weren't many Cathars left. Their story is a reminder that sometimes people have very different ideas, and it can lead to big disagreements. It's important to learn about different beliefs, even if they seem strange to us.