Diploma in Gnosticism
Distance Learning Course Details

Textbook available on KINDLE™

   College accreditation:    International Association for Distance Learning.
   Course approved by Institute for Meridian Psychotherapy for professional and personal
   development purposes  (spirituality studies)

Total recommended period of study: approx. 3 months or less. Continuous enrolment. No time limit.

Cost: £215.00  (215 Pounds Sterling - for currency conversion see www.xe.com )

One FREE textbook will be included for students from the UK. Students outside the UK will need to buy the textbook separately.  No other books are required.

Kindle Textbook discount for UK students: We will give UK students a discount of £15 if they purchase the Kindle edition of the textbook from the link in the left-hand column of this page, instead of the free hard copy. 

Method of study 

Textbook study. Written assignments are based on the set textbook. Assignment questions are issued by email and students return their written work by email. Grades and feedback are issued by email.

Course overview

This course is a study of the philosophy of Gnosticism as expressed in many different forms from its remotest origins in ancient Egypt, Greece, India, Persia and the Middle East to modern cultural forms.  This  complex field covers both personal approaches to divine realisation and different spiritual systems and sects throughout the ages. It is not only a form of alternative or early Christianity – it has taken various religious, spiritual and cultural forms and in recent times has been part of Western Esotericism, Anthroposophy, the works of Carl Jung, and has been an influence on twentieth-century occultism, arts and popular music.  The basic message of Gnosticism is that human beings are gods in potential, and that rigid theological/ideological systems and also materialism both stand in the way of the perception of our free and divine nature. Gnosticism also acknowledges that the world we live in is neither wholly good nor wholly evil but that there is an ongoing and ancient conflict between two opposing forces, an idea that has been expressed more dramatically in some forms of Gnosticism than in others.

Topics included:

• Ancient origins of Gnostic ideas

• Jewish themes in Gnostic thought

• Christian origins

• Early Gnosticism

• Expressions of Gnosticism in medieval magic and metaphysics

• Sufi Philosophy and Gnosticism

• The Cathars

• The Troubadours and the allegory of love

• The Templars

• European Theosophy, Masonry and Rosicrucianism

• French Freemasonry and Occultism

• The works and life of Aleister Crowley

• Gnostic themes in Jung and in the New Physics

• Expressions of Gnosticism in the Twentieth Century: esotericism, popular culture and the arts

A university-level textbook is required as the main book for the course. Further reading is optional and a list of selected Internet sites is provided for further research.

Entry criteria and suitability 

No particular qualifications are required for entry but the ability to study from university-standard textbooks is required.

Qualification

Successful graduates will receive the Diploma in Gnosticism awarded by UK College of Holistic Training which is a private UK qualification. The college is accredited by the International Association for Distance Learning.

The course is approved by Institute for Meridian Psychotherapy for professional development purposes (studies of spirituality are an important component of professional development)    

If you are in a location where the designation "Certificate" is preferable to "Diploma", the wording of your qualification can be changed accordingly.

This diploma is accepted by Calamus International University (a non-UK, private distance university with private accreditation) for credit towards a degree.

Further information

Please see our FAQs page for general information.

We reserve the right to change the syllabus and other details of any course at any time.

To apply for this course now, go to our Application page