Heresy

n.	1.
	1.	An opinion held in opposition to the established or commonly received doctrine, and tending to promote a division or party, as in politics, literature, philosophy, etc.; - usually, but not necessarily, said in reproach. New opinions Divers and dangerous, which are heresies, And, not reformed, may prove pernicious. - Shak. After the study of philosophy began in Greece, and the philosophers, disagreeing amongst themselves, had started many questions . . . because every man took what opinion he pleased, each several opinion was called a heresy; which signified no more than a private opinion, without reference to truth or falsehood. - Hobbes.
	2.	(Theol.) Religious opinion opposed to the authorized doctrinal standards of any particular church, especially when tending to promote schism or separation; lack of orthodox or sound belief; rejection of, or erroneous belief in regard to, some fundamental religious doctrine or truth; heterodoxy. Doubts 'mongst divines, and difference of texts, From whence arise diversity of sects, And hateful heresies by God abhor'd. - Spenser. Deluded people! that do not consider that the greatest heresy in the world is a wicked life. - Tillotson.
	3.	(Law) An offense against Christianity, consisting in a denial of some essential doctrine, which denial is publicly avowed, and obstinately maintained. A second offense is that of heresy, which consists not in a total denial of Christianity, but of some its essential doctrines, publicly and obstinately avowed. - Blackstone.

Noun	1.	heresy - any opinions or doctrines at variance with the official or orthodox position Synonyms: heterodoxy, unorthodoxy
	2.	heresy - a belief that rejects the orthodox tenets of a religion Synonyms: unorthodoxy

HERESY, Eng. law. The adoption of any erroneous religious tenet, not warranted by the established church.
     2. This is punished by the deprivation of certain civil rights, and by fine and imprisonment. 1 East, P. C. 4.
     3. In other countries than England, by heresy is meant the profession, by Christians, of religious opinions contrary to the dogmas approved by the established church of the respective countries. For an account of the origin and progress of the laws against heresy, see Giannoni's Istoria di Napoli, vol. 3, pp, 250, 251, &c.
     4. in the United State, happily, we have no established religion; there can, therefore, be no legal heresy. Vide Apostacy; Christianity.

Albigensianism, Arianism, Bohemianism, Catharism, Ebionitism, Erastianism, Gnosticism, Jovinianism, Lollardy, Manichaeanism, Manichaeism, Monophysism, Monophysitism, Pelagianism, Waldensianism, Wyclifism, aberrancy, aberration, agnosticism, ambiguity, ambivalence, antinomianism, antinomy, apostasy, asymmetry, atheism, beatnikism, defection, defectiveness, delusion, denial, deviancy, disbelief, discredit, disproportion, disproportionateness, dissent, dissidence, distortion, emanatism, equivocality, errancy, erroneousness, error, fallaciousness, fallacy, false doctrine, falseness, falsity, fault, faultiness, flaw, flawedness, fringiness, hamartia, heterodoxy, heterogeneity, hippiedom, hylotheism, illusion, impiety, inability to believe, incoherence, incommensurability, incompatibility, incongruity, inconsistency, inconsonance, incredulity, infidelity, irreconcilability, minimifidianism, misapplication, misbelief, misconstruction, misdoing, misfeasance, misinterpretation, misjudgment, nonbelief, nonconformability, nonconformism, nonconformity, nullifidianism, originality, oxymoron, pantheism, paradox, peccancy, perversion, rejection, revisionism, schism, self-contradiction, sin, sinfulness, unbelief, unbelievingness, unconformability, unconformity, unconventionality, unorthodoxy, untrueness, untruth, untruthfulness, wrong, wrongness