Manichaeology, Early Christianity, and Religious Identity

Abstract

This article serves as a response to Johannes van Oort’s creative and erudite analysis of the status quaestionis and constitution of Manichaean studies, most aptly termed, “Manichaeology”. What I aim to achieve with this short study is a reflection and some suggestions on how the study of Manichaeology, in relation to early Christian studies, can assist us in better conceptualizing how we might understand religious identity in Late Antiquity. Several scholars of Manichaeism have made major strides in locating Manichaeism and early Christianity as what we might call proximate discursive formations. These discursive formations constantly overlap, constitute, construct and, indeed, deconstruct elements of shared religious identity in the late ancient world, and their interaction offers us a useful case study for developing a more cautious, nuanced, and considered approach to understanding religious identity during this period.