Flourishing principally in France's Languedoc region and Italy, the medieval sect known as the Cathars taught that the world is evil and must be transcended through a simple life of prayer, work, fasting, and non-violence. Believing themselves to be the heirs of the true heritage of Christianity, the Cathars rejected the Catholic Church, and found increasing favor among peasants and the nobility. As Sean Martin details in this history, however, the Church responded with the Albigensian Crusade, which culminated in the first European genocide.