Heresy
Heresy, according to the
Oxford English Dictionary, is a "theological or religious opinion or
doctrine maintained in opposition, or held to be contrary, to the
Catholic or
Orthodox doctrine of the Christian Church, or, by extension, to that of any church, creed, or religious system, considered as orthodox. By extension, heresy is an opinion or doctrine in philosophy, politics, science, art, etc., at variance with those generally accepted as authoritative." The study of heresy is
heresiology.
The word "heresy" comes from the
Greek αιρεσις,
hairesis (from αιρεομαι,
haireomai, "choose"), which means either a
choice of beliefs or a
faction of dissident believers. It was given wide currency by
Irenaeus in his tract
Contra Haereses (
Against Heresies) to describe and discredit his opponents in the early Christian Church. He described his own position as orthodox (from
ortho- "straight" +
doxa "thinking") and his position eventually evolved into the position of the early Christian Church.
Thus it will be perceived that "heresy" has no purely objective meaning: the category exists only from the point-of-view of a position within a
sect that has been previously defined as "orthodox". Thus, too, any
nonconformist view within any field may be perceived as "heretical" by others within that field who are convinced that their view is "orthodox"; in the sciences this extension is made
tongue-in-cheek.
Heretics usually do not define their own beliefs as heretical. Heresy is a value-judgment and the expression of a view from within an established
belief system. For instance, Roman Catholics held Protestantism as a heresy while some non-Catholics considered Catholicism the "
Great Apostasy."
For a heresy to exist there must be an authoritative system of dogma designated as orthodox, such as those proposed by
Catholicism. The term
orthodox is used in
Eastern Orthodoxy, some
Protestant churches, in
Islam, some
Jewish denominations, and to a lesser extent in other
religions. Variance from orthodox
Marxism-Leninism is described as "right" or "left deviationism." The
Church of Scientology uses the term "squirreling" to refer to unauthorized alterations of its teachings or methods.
Christianity
The use of the term
heresy in the context of Christianity is less common today, with some notable exceptions: see for example
Rudolf Bultmann and the
character of debates over
ordination of women and gay priests. Popular imagination relegates "heresy" to the
Middle Ages, when the Church's power in Europe was at its height, but the case of the scholar and humanist
Giordano Bruno was not the last execution for heresy. Heresy remained an officially punishable offense in Roman Catholic nations until the late 18th century. In Spain, heretics were prosecuted and punished during the
Counter-Enlightenment movement of the restoration of the monarchy there after the Napoleonic Era.
Early Christian heresies
Urgent concerns with the uniformity of belief and practice have characterized Christianity from the outset. The process of establishing orthodox Christianity was set in full swing when Paul wrote the epistles that comprise a large part of the New Testament. On many occasions in Paul's epistles, he defends his own apostleship, and urges Christians in various places to beware of false teachers, or of anything contrary to what was handed to them by him. The epistles of John and Jude also warn of false teachers, as does the writer of the
Book of Revelation.
In the middle of the 2nd century, three unorthodox groups of Christians adhered to a range of doctrines that divided the Christian communities of Rome: the teacher
Marcion, the
pentecostal outpourings of ecstatic Christian prophets of a
continuing revelation, in a movement that was called "
Montanism" because it had been initiated by
Montanus and his female disciples, and the
gnostic teachings of
Valentinus. Early attacks upon alleged heresies formed the matter of
Tertullian's
Prescription Against Heretics (in 44 chapters, written from Rome), and of
Irenaeus'
Against Heresies (
ca 180, in five volumes), written in Lyon after his return from a visit to Rome. The letters of
Ignatius of Antioch and
Polycarp of Smyrna to various churches warned against false teachers, and the
Epistle of Barnabas accepted by many Christians as part of Scripture in the 2nd century, warned about
mixing Judaism with Christianity, as did other writers, leading to decisions reached in the
first ecumenical council, which was convoked by the Emperor Constantine at Nicaea in 325, in response to further disruptive polemical controversy within the Christian community, in that case
Arianist disputes over the nature of the Trinity.
During those first three centuries, Christianity was effectively outlawed by requirements to venerate the Roman emperor and Roman gods. Consequently, when the Church labeled its enemies as heretics and cast them out of its congregations or severed ties with dissident churches, it remained without the power to persecute them. However, those called "heretics" were also called a number of other things (e.g. "fools," "wild dogs," "servants of Satan"), so the word "heretic" had negative associations from the beginning, and intentionally so.
Before 325 AD, the "heretical" nature of some beliefs was a matter of much debate within the churches. After 325 AD, some opinion was formulated as dogma through the
canons promulgated by the councils. Each phrase in the
Nicene Creed, which was hammered out at the
Council of Nicaea, addresses some aspect that had been under passionate discussion and closes the books on the argument, with the weight of the agreement of the over 300 bishops in attendance. [Constantine had invited all 1800 bishops of the Christian church (about 1000 in the east and 800 in the west). The number of participating bishops cannot be accurately stated; Socrates Scholasticus and Epiphanius of Salamis counted 318; Eusebius of Caesarea, only 250.] In spite of the agreement reached at the council of 325 the
Arians who had been defeated dominated most of the church for the greater part of the fourth century, often with the aid of Roman emperors who favored them. In the East, the successful party of
Cyril cast out
Nestorius and his followers as heretics and
collected and burned his writings.
Irenaeus was the first to argue that his "proto-orthodox" position was the same faith that
Jesus gave to the
apostles, and that the identity of the apostles, their successors, and the teachings of the same were all well-known public knowledge. This was therefore an early argument supported by
apostolic succession. Irenaeus first established the doctrine of four gospels and no more, with the synoptic gospels interpreted in the light of
John. Irenaeus' opponents, however, claimed to have received secret teachings from Jesus via other apostles which were not publicly known. (
Gnosticism is predicated on the existence of such hidden knowledge, but brief references to private teachings of Jesus have also survived in the canonic Scripture.) Irenaeus' opponents also claimed that the wellsprings of divine inspiration were not dried up, which is the doctrine of
continuing revelation.
The Spanish ascetic
Priscillian of Avila was the first person to be executed for heresy, only sixty years after the First Council of Nicaea, in
385. He was executed at the orders of Emperor
Magnus Maximus, over the procedural objections of bishops
Ambrose of Milan and
Martin of Tours, who claimed the Churches' right to punish its own.
A number of the beliefs the Catholic Church has come to regard as heretical have to do with
Christology, that is, with the nature of Jesus Christ and the relationship between Christ and God the Father. The
orthodox teaching, as it developed, is that Christ was fully divine and at the same time fully human, and that the three persons of the
Trinity are co-equal and co-eternal. This position, it should be noted, was not formally established as the orthodox position until it was challenged in the fourth century by
Arius (
Nicene creed in 325); nor was the
New Testament put into its present form until the end of the 4th century (
Athanasius first lists the 27 books we have in the current New Testament circa 367, but disputes continued; see
Biblical Canon).
Over the years, numerous Christian scholars and preachers have disagreed with the Church on various issues or doctrines. When the Church has become aware of these beliefs, they have been condemned as heretical, and with the
East-West Schism finalized in the 11th century, and the split in the Western Church in the 16th, each section has identified the others as "heretical". Historically, this often happened when the belief challenged, or was seen to challenge, Church authority, or drew a movement of followers who challenged the established order socially. Unfortunately, for entirely secular reasons, some influential people have had an interest in maintaining the
status quo or condemning a group they wished to be removed. The Church's internal explanations for its actions were based purely on objection to beliefs and philosophies that ran contrary to its interpretation of
scripture and its official interpretation of holy tradition.
Catholic understanding
Heresy is defined by
Thomas Aquinas as "a species of infidelity in men who, having professed the
faith of Christ, corrupt its
dogmas." The
Catholic Church teaches that its doctrines are the authoritative understandings of the faith taught by Christ and that the Holy Spirit protects the Church from falling into error when teaching these doctrines. To deny one or more of those doctrines, therefore, is to deny the faith of Christ. Heresy is both the nonorthodox belief itself, and the act of holding to that belief.
While the term is often used by laymen to indicate any
nonorthodox belief such as
Paganism, by definition heresy can only be committed by someone who considers himself a Christian, but rejects the teachings of the Catholic Church. A person who completely renounces
Christianity is not considered a heretic, but an
apostate, and a person who renounces the authority of the Church but not its teachings is a
schismatic.
The Church makes several distinctions as to the seriousness of an individual
heterodoxy and its closeness to true heresy. Only a belief that directly contravenes an
Article of Faith, or that has been explicitly rejected by the Church, is labelled as actual "heresy."
Canon 751 of the Catholic Church's Code of
Canon law promulgated by
Pope John Paul II in 1983 (abbreviated "C.I.C." for Codex Iuris Canonici), the little-known juridical systematization of ancient law currently binding the world's one billion Latin Rite Catholics, defines heresy as the following: "Heresy is the obstinate denial or doubt after the reception of baptism of some truth which is to be believed by divine and Catholic faith." The essential elements of canonical heresy therefore technically comprise 1) obstinacy, or continuation in time; 2) denial (a proposition contrary or contradictory in formal logic to a dogma) or doubt (a posited opinion, not being a firm denial, of the contrary or contradictory proposition to a dogma); 3) after reception of valid baptism; 4) of a truth categorized as being of "Divine and Catholic Faith," meaning contained directly within either Sacred Scripture or Sacred Tradition per Can. 750 par. 1 C.I.C. ("de fide divina") AND proposed as 'de fide divina' by either a Pope having spoken solemnly "
ex cathedra" on his own (example: dogmatic definition of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in 1950), or defined solemnly by an Ecumenical Council in unison with a Pope (ex: the definition of the Divinity of Christ in the Council of Chalcedon) ("de fide catholica").
An important distinction is that between
formal and
material heresy. The difference is one of the heretic's subjective belief about his opinion. The heretic who is aware that his belief is at odds with Catholic teaching and yet continues to cling to his belief pertinaciously is a formal heretic. This sort of heresy is sinful because in this case the heretic knowingly holds an opinion that, in the words of the first edition of the
Catholic Encyclopedia, "is destructive of the virtue of Christian faith . . . disturbs the unity, and challenges the Divine authority, of the Church" and "strikes at the very source of faith." Material heresy, on the other hand, means that the individual is unaware that his heretical opinion denies, in the words of Canon 751, "some truth which is to be believed by divine and Catholic faith." The opinion of a material heretic is still heresy, and it produces the same objective results as formal heresy, but because of his ignorance he commits no sin by holding it.
The penalty for a baptized Catholic above the age of 18 who obstinately, publicly, and voluntarily manifests his or her adherence to an objective heresy is automatic
excommunication ("latae sententiae") according to Can. 1364 par.1 C.I.C..
A belief that the church has not directly rejected, or that is at variance with less important church teachings, is given the label,
sententia haeresi proxima, meaning "opinion approaching heresy." A
theological argument,
belief, or
theory that does not constitute heresy in itself, but which leads to conclusions which might be held to do so, is termed
propositio theologice erronea, or "erroneous theological proposition." Finally, if the theological position only suggests but does not necessarily lead to a doctrinal conflict, it might be given the even milder label of
sententia de haeresi suspecta, haeresim sapiens, meaning "opinion suspected, or savoring, of heresy."
Some significant controversies of doctrine have risen over the course of history. At times there have been many heresies over single points of doctrine, particularly in regard to the nature of the
Trinity, the doctrine of
transubstantiation and the
immaculate conception.
= Types of heretics
=# the heretic impenitent and not relapsed (for the first time)# the heretic impenitent and relapsed (for the first time was penitent now is impenitent)# the heretic penitent and relapsed (for the first time was penitent now is penitent too, but relapsing was the capital offence)# the heretic negative (who denied his crime)# the heretic contumacious (who absconded)
Since the Church doesn't thirst for blood
(ecclesia non sitit sanguinem), the first four types were all delivered over to the secular arm. The state usually immediately punished heresy with
death sentence. The longest delay could be five days. The custom that the impenitent heretics (the first two types) were cast into the flames alive and the penitent (the third type) were first strangled or hanged and then burned was not always observed.
=Catholic response to heresy
=The Church has always fought in favor of orthodoxy and the
Pope's authority as the successor of
St. Peter to determine truth. At various times in history, it has had varying degrees of power to resist or punish heretics, once it had defined them.
In the early church, heresies were sometimes determined by a selected council of bishops, or
ecumenical council, such as the First Council of Nicaea and promulgated by the Pope and the bishops under him. The orthodox position was established at the council, and all who failed to adhere to it would thereafter be considered heretics. The church had little power to actually punish heretics in the early years, other than by
excommunication. To those who accepted it, an excommunication was the worst form of punishment possible, as it separated the individual from the body of Christ, his Church, and, if the sentence accurately reflected God's judgement, meant the denial of
salvation. Excommunication, or even the threat of excommunication, was enough to convince many a heretic to renounce his views.
Priscillian achieved the distinction of becoming the first Christian burned alive for heresy in
385 at
Treves.
In later years, the Church instituted the
Inquisition, an official body charged with the suppression of heresy. The Inquisition was active in several nations of
Europe, particularly where it had fervent support from the civil authority. The
Albigensian Crusade (
1209-
1229) was part of the
Catholic Church's efforts to crush the
Cathars. It is linked to the movement now known as the
Medieval Inquisition. The
Spanish Inquisition was particularly brutal in its methods, which included the
burning at the stake of many heretics. However, it was initiated and substantially controlled by
King Ferdinand of Spain rather than the Church; King Ferdinand used political leverage to obtain the Church's tacit approval. Another example of a medieval heretic (according to some, proto-Protestant) movement is the
Hussite movement in the
Czech lands in the early
1400s.
It is widely reported that the last person to be burned alive at the stake on orders from Rome was
Giordano Bruno, executed in
1600 for a collection of heretical beliefs including
Copernicanism and (probably more important) an unlimited universe with innumerable inhabited worlds. The last case of an execution at an
auto de fe by the Spanish Inquisition was the schoolmaster
Cayetano Ripoll, accused of
deism and executed by
garroting July 26,
1826 in
Valencia after a two-year trial.
The development of the
printing press greatly hampered the ability of the church to suppress dissidents, with the result that
Martin Luther was able to successfully fight the Papacy and forge the
Protestant Reformation.
=Modern Catholic response to Protestantism
=The Catholic Church, in the spirit of ecumenism, tends not to refer to
Protestantism as a heresy nowadays, even if the teachings of Protestantism are indeed heretical from a Catholic perspective. Modern usage favors referring to Protestants as "separated brethren" rather than "heretics", although the latter is still on occasion used vis-a-vis Catholics who abandon their Church to join a Protestant denomination. Many Catholics consider Protestantism to be material rather than formal heresy, and thus non-culpable.
Some of the doctrines of Protestantism that the Catholic Church considers heretical are the belief that the
Bible is the only source and rule of faith ("
sola scriptura"), that faith alone can lead to salvation ("
sola fide") and that there is no sacramental, ministerial priesthood attained by ordination, but only a universal priesthood of all believers.
Protestantism and heresy
The main meaning of 'heresy' to a Protestant is the concept of telling lies about God. It is not at its core a matter of opposing the authorities (though, like all authorities religious or otherwise, Protestant leaders often invoke the concepts of heresy and
apostasy to defend themselves from attack). Protestants chose the difficult course of action, to try to steer a middle course between (1) respecting God enough to care that humans tell the truth about God, and (2) being tolerant and loving of those who honestly see things differently, giving them an open ear because there might be something to learn from them. Protestants who seek to reestablish what they see as ancestral Christian principles sometimes refer to Catholicism (or indeed other Protestant groups) as heretical. One aspect of Catholicism many Protestants regard as heresy against original Christianity is the
veneration of the saints, and in particular the
cultus of the
Virgin Mary. Another is the doctrine of
transubstantiation, the event where the bread and wine at Mass becomes the Body and Blood of Christ.
Heresy in Judaism
Orthodox Judaism considers views departing from the traditional
Jewish principles of faith to be heretical. In addition, Orthodox Judaism holds that all Jews who reject the simple meaning of
Maimonides's 13 principles of Jewish faith are heretics. As such, most of Orthodox Judaism considers
Reform and
Reconstructionist Judaism to be heretical movements, and regards most of
Conservative Judaism as heretical. The liberal wing of
Modern Orthodoxy is more tolerant of Conservative Judaism, particularly its right wing, as there is some theological and practical overlap between these groups.
The Greek term άίρεσις originally denoted "division," "sect," "religious" or "philosophical party," and is applied by
Josephus to the three Jewish sects "
Sadducees,
Pharisees, and
Essenes. The specific rabbinical term for heresies, or religious divisions due to an unlawful spirit, is "מינים/minim" (lit. "kinds {of belief}"; the singular "מין/min," (literally, "a kind") for "heretic" or "Gnostic," is coined idiomatically, like "goy" and "'am ha-aretz";). An alternative term, אפיקורוס (Apiqoros/Apikoros), which is often used for apostates who turned towards agnosticism or atheism, is derived from
Epicurus and the philosophy of
Epicureanism.
The law "You shall not cut yourselves" (Deuteronomy 14:2) is interpreted by the Rabbis: "You shall not form divisions, but shall form one bond." (Source: Talmud Yevamot 13a,
Midrash Sifre on Deuteronomy 96)
Besides the term "min" for "heretic," the
Talmud uses the words "Hitsonim" (outsiders), "
apikoros," and "kofer ba-Torah" (R. H. 17a), or "kofeir ba-'ikar" (he who denies the fundamentals of faith; Pes. xxiv. 168b); also "poresh mi-darke tsibbur" (he who deviates from the customs of the community; Tosef., Sanh. xiii. 5; R. H. 17a). Of all these it is said that they are consigned to Gehinnom for all eternity (Tosef., Sanh. l.c.; comp. ib. xii. 9, apparently belonging to xiii. 5: "He who casts off the yoke [of the Law], and he who severs the Abrahamic covenant; he who interprets the Torah against the halakic tradition, and he who pronounces in full the Ineffable Name"all these have no share in the world to come").
The
Mishnah says the following have no share in the world to come: "He who denies that the Torah is divinely revealed, and the apiḳoros." R. Akiba says, "also he who reads heretical books". This is explained in the Talmud (Sanh. 100b) to mean "sifre 'eduḳim" (Sadducean writings); but this is an alteration by the censor of "sifre ha-Minim" (books of the Gnostics or Heretics). The Biblical version, "That ye seek not after your own heart" (Num. xv. 39), is explained (Sifre, Num. 115; Ber. 12b) as "Ye shall not turn to heretic views ["minut"] which lead your heart away from God" (see Maimonides, "Yad," 'Akkum, ii. 3).
In summarizing the Talmudic statements concerning heretics in Sanh. 90-103, Maimonides ("Yad," Teshubah, iii. 6-8) says:
"The following have no share in the world to come, but are cut off, and perish, and receive their punishment for all time for their great sin: the minim, the apiḳoresim, they that deny the belief in the Torah, they that deny the belief in resurrection of the dead and in the coming of the Redeemer, the apostates, they that lead many to sin, they that turn away from the ways of the [Jewish] community... Five are called 'minim': (1) he who says there is no God and the world has no guide; (2) he who says the world has more than one guide; (3) he who ascribes to the Lord of the Universe a body and a figure; (4) he who says that God was not alone and Creator of all things at the world's beginning; (5) he who worships some star or constellation as an intermediating power between himself and the Lord of the World.
"The following three classes are called 'apiḳoresim': (1) he who says there was no prophecy nor was there any wisdom that came from God and which was attained by the heart of man; (2) he who denies the prophetic power of Moses our master; (3) he who says that God has no knowledge concerning the doings of men.
"The following three are called 'koferim ba-Torah': (1) he who says the Torah is not from God: he is a kofer even if he says a single verse or letter thereof was said by Moses of his own accord; (2) he who denies the traditional interpretation of the Torah and opposes those authorities who declare it to be tradition, as did
Zadok and Boethus; and (3) he who says, as do the Nazarenes and the Mohammedans, that the Lord has given a new dispensation instead of the old, and that he has abolished the Law, though it was originally divine."
It is noteworthy, however, that Abraham ben David, in his critical notes, objects to Maimonides characterizing as heretics all those who attribute corporeality to God; and he insinuates that the
Kabbalists are not heretics. In the same sense all Biblical critics who, like
Ibn Ezra in his notes on Deut. i. 2, doubt or deny the Mosaic origin of every portion of the Pentateuch, would protest against this Maimonidean (or Talmudic; see Sanh. 99a) conception of heresy. See Apikoros; Articles of Faith; Judaism; Gnosticism. K.
Legal status
The status of heretics in Jewish law is not clearly defined. While there are certain regulations scattered throughout the Talmud concerning the minim, the nearest approach to the English term "heretic," these are mostly of a haggadic nature, the codes taking little cognizance of them. The governing bodies of the Synagogue frequently exercised, from motives of self-defense, their power of excommunication against heretics. The heretic was excluded from a portion in the world to come (Maimonides, "Yad," Teshubah, iii. 6-14); he was consigned to
Gehenna, to eternal
punishment (R. H. 17a; comp. Ex. R. xix. 5; see Apikoros, and compare D. Hoffmann, "Der Schulchan Aruch und die Rabbinen über das Verhältnis der Juden zu Andersgläubigen," 2d ed., Berlin, 1894); but the Jewish courts of justice never attended to cases of heresy; they were left to the judgment of the community.
There are, however, in the rabbinic codes, laws and regulations concerning the relation of the Jew to the heretic. The sentiment against the heretic was much stronger than that against the pagan. While the pagan brought his offerings to the Temple in Jerusalem and the priests accepted them, the sacrifices of the heretic were not accepted (Ḥul. 13b, et al.). The relatives of the heretic did not observe the laws of mourning after his death, but donned festive garments, and ate and drank and rejoiced (Sem. ii. 10; "Yad," Ebel, i. 5, 6; Yoreh De'ah, 345, 5). Scrolls of the Law, tefillin, and mezuzot written by a heretic were burned (Git. 45b; Shulḥan 'Aruk, Oraḥ Ḥayyim, 39, 1; Yoreh De'ah, 281, 1); and an animal slaughtered by a heretic was forbidden food (Ḥul. 13a; Yoreh De'ah, 2, 5). Books written by heretics did not render the hands impure ("Yad," She'ar Abot ha-Tum'ot, ix. 10; comp. Yad. iv. 6; see Purity); they might not be saved from fire on the Sabbath (Shab. 116a; Oraḥ Ḥayyim, 334, 21). A heretic's testimony was not admitted in evidence in Jewish courts (Ḥoshen Mishpat, 34, 22; see "Be'er ha-Golah" ad loc.); and if an Israelite found an object belonging to a heretic, he was forbidden to return it to him (Ḥoshen Mishpat 266, 2).
Classes of heretics
The "mumar le-hak'is" (one who transgresses the Law, not for personal advantage, but out of defiance and spite) was placed by some of the Rabbis in the same category as the minim ('Ab. Zarah 26a; Hor. 11a). Even if he habitually transgressed one law only (for example, if he defiantly violated one of the dietary laws), he was not allowed to perform any religious function (Yoreh De'ah, 2, 5; SHaK and "Pitḥe Teshubah," ad loc.), nor could he testify in a Jewish court (Sanh. 27a; "Yad," 'Edut, x. 3; Ḥoshen Mishpat, 34, 2). One who violated the Sabbath publicly or worshiped idols could not participate in the "'erub ḥa"erot" ('Er. 69a; "Yad," 'Erubin, ii. 16; Orach Ḥayyim, 385, 3; see 'Erub), nor could he write a bill of divorce (Shulḥan 'Aruk, Eben ha-'Ezer, 123, 2). One who would not permit himself to be circumcised could not perform the ceremony on another (Yoreh De'ah, 264, 1, Isserles' gloss). While the court could not compel the mumar to divorce his wife, even though she demanded it, it compelled him to support her and her children and to pay her an allowance until he agreed to a divorce (Eben ha-'Ezer, 154, 1, and "Pitḥe Teshubah," ad loc.). At his death those who are present need not tear their garments (Yoreh De'ah, 340, 5, and "Pitche Teshubah," ad loc.). The mumar who repented and desired readmittance into the community was obliged to take a ritual bath, the same as the proselyte (Yoreh De'ah, 268, 12, Isserles' gloss, and "Pitche Teshubah," ad loc.; comp. "Sefer Hasidim," ed. Wistinetzki, §§ 200-209). If he claimed to be a good Jew, although he was alleged to have worshiped idols in another town, he was believed when no benefit could have accrued to him from such a course.
Heresy in Islam
The two main bodies of
Islam are the
Sunnis and the
Shi'as. These main denominations view each other as heretical. Groups like the
Sufis, the
Hurufiya and even the
Bektashi are sometimes regarded as heretical. Although Sufism is often accepted as valid by Sunnis,
fundamentalist Sunni movements like
Wahhabism view it as heretical.
Both the
Ahmadiyya and the
Nation of Islam are regarded by many
Muslim Ulema as being
apostate, but in the case of the
Ahmadiyya movement, attitudes towards designating the sect apostatical, heretical or Islamic differ depending on region or Islamic schools of thought. In
Pakistan, where most Ahmadis live, the state consider the group to be apostatical; whereas in the neighbouring state of
Iran, the same group is considered to fall within the bounds of Islamic belief. Another example concerning the Ahmadiyya movement is group is the
Al-Azhar Islamic University in
Egypt, which accepts a certain Ahmadi belief concerning the nature of prophethood in Islam, which is considered by other schools as being heretical, to fall within Islamic jurisdiction.
Today,
heresy can be without a religious context as the holding of ideas that are in fundamental disagreement with the status quo in any practice and branch of knowledge. Religion is not a necessary component of the term's definition. [
1] For example,
Charles Darwin of
natural selection fame was considered a heretic of his day. Other people considered heretics were
Isaac Newton,
Albert Einstein,
Leonardo da Vinci,
Copernicus, and many others. The revisionist
paleontologist Robert T. Bakker, who published his findings as
The Dinosaur Heresies, jokingly treated the mainstream view of dinosaurs as the
dogma of a religion.
The term
heresy is also used as an ideological
pigeonhole for contemporary writers because by definition heresy depends on contrasts with an established
orthodoxy. For example, the tongue-in-cheek contemporary usage of heresy, such as to categorize a "Wall Street heresy" or a "Republican heresy", are
metaphors which invariably retain a subtext that links orthodoxies in geology or biology or any other field to the dogmas of religion (although religion may not necessarily appear as an explicit component). Heresy, in these expanded metaphoric senses, is intended to allude to both the
difference between the person's views and the mainstream, and the
boldness of such a person in propounding these views, despite their unpopularity or even forceful opposition.
In modern American history, the term heresy has been applied in the United States to the position of those Catholic politicians and voters who publicly and obstinately profess the civil right to choose abortion. In July 2004, the group De Fide achieved wide notoriety when it coined the expression "Right-to-Murder Heresy" in reference to abortion. It and 3,000 other Catholics filed the first "class-action" denunciation for heresy against Senator John F. Kerry, soon followed by more denunciations against four other well-known Republican and Democrat senators also pro-choice.
Following those events, in February 2006, Bishop Robert F. Vasa of the Diocese of Baker, Oregon widened the national debate by becoming the first sitting Roman Catholic Ordinary to publicly raise the question of heresy in reference to those who support or vote in favor of abortion.
*
Apostasy*
Bida*
Binitarianism*
Brethren of the Free Spirit*
Christian anarchism*
Christian theological controversy*
Heterodoxy*
History of Christianity*
Infallibility of the Church*
Orthodoxy*
Sabbath Breaking*
List of heretics (category)*
List of people burned as heretics*
Status quo* Some quotes and information in this article came from the
Catholic Encyclopedia.
*
One Christian definition of 'heresy'*
De Fide, a non-profit association which uses Canon Law to defend the Faith and Church from Heresy, through lawsuits in Ecclesiastical Court.
