Heresy

+++ Any person who speaks ill of the Emperor, the Imperium, cites his loyalty to any entity besides the Emperor, defaces holy artifacts or buildings, incites heretical thoughts or actions, talks openly about forbidden subjects and generally behaves in a manner disrespectful to all that is holy and good will have his extremities removed and left to bleed to death, for the Emperor's pleasure. The body will then be burned to ensure no taint remains. +++ The Imperial Infantryman's Uplifting Primer, Art 6741/09a +++

"Beware the alien, the heretic, and the mutant."

-- Thought for the Day.

~Since the time of Sigmar Himself, we have been no more than a flickering beacon of hope amidst a sea of despair and corruption, but never before have we faced so many dangers. We must suffer the simple-minded liberalism of our burgomeisters, the sanctioning of magic use, the heresy of false prophets and religions, the arrogance of the Arch-lectors, and the convoluted plots of the Dark Gods - the rot has sunk deep into the flesh of the Empire, where even now it festers and grows. The time has come to acts and only within this proud and ancient order lies the strength of will, the zeal, and the righteous fury required to save us. They call us Witch Hunters, in their fear and ignorance, without even the slightest idea of the monstrous deeds we must commit on their behalf.~

In Warhammer 40,000, heresy (or HERESY!) is the most severe accusation the Imperium can make against one of its citizens. It is almost always punishable by death. Heresy involves willingly consorting with Chaos, which the Imperium gravely forbids, and anyone guilty of merely suggesting anything good about Chaos, or American pop music, will receive a fist-fuck of Inquisitorial proportions when they least expect it. The other common form of heresy is any blasphemy against or defamation of the Emperor and/or the Imperium, which basically entails saying anything even remotely bad about either one. The other form involves saying anything against the Imperial Creed, which details pretty much everything not related to the veneration of the Empra.

The trials for heresy are broad, but the majority of them occur like this, or this, or even this.

What isn't heretical (40k)

Much like the whole Rule 34 and Rule 35 gig, there are a few things that aren't heresy. Here's a short and general list:

The immortal God-Emperor of the Imperium of Man
Veneration of the immortal Emperor
Dying for the Emperor in the most manly way possible.
Dying for the Emperor in as many ways as possible HERESY!!! LIVING MORE THAN ONCE IS CHAOS WORSHIP Life is the currency of the Emperor! (Spend it well... and not on heresy)
Nearly dying for the Emperor while doing something badass as many times as you can before you actually die for the Emperor
Brutally slaughtering and burning heaps of xenos, mutants, heretics and most especially Modern Pop Fans, for the God Emperor of Mankind. (If you can live long enough to fire that flashlight that is--)
Discovering new planets so the Emperor can have even more wars. Unsullied planets + war = More burning Heretics for the Emperor, hurrah!
Building gigantic Gothic cathedrals the size of sky scrapers for the Emperor.
Rendering said cathedrals spaceworthy.
Praising of the Emperor.
Hailing to the High Lords of Terra/Administratum/Ecclesiarchy- except when they commit heresy.
accusing random people of HERESY!!!
- *BLAM*
Why are you still reading this instead of venerating the motherfucking Emperor?! You must be a heretic for having doubt! Die heretic scum! *BLAM*

What isn't heretical (Fantasy)

Our lord Sigmar Heldenhammer, true god of the Empire
Veneration of the holy comet
Worship of non chaotic lesser deities
Growing mustaches
Brutally slaughtering and burning heaps of daemons, witches, greenskins, Vampires, walking skeletons, talking cats, and Scandinavians (remember, the pointy end of the spear faces AWAY from you)
Fucking Elfmaidens
Getting drunk with Dwarves (considered a minor anti-heresy)
Adding steam engines to things
Not rioting
Praising the Elector Counts (except in times of civil war), and the glorious Emperor Karl Franz
Not talking about the ~~giant rat-men armed with weapons that spit fire, who spread the plague through the water, who have planted a bomb in the city square and... IT'S ALL OVER, OUR ONLY REMAINING SOLUTION IS TO RIOT~~ ~~HERESY! *FWIP*(fwip? they have guns you know)~~ ... *sigh* Alright... HERESY!!! *BLAM*

Gallery (40k)

The Official Imperial Stamp O' Heresy
Commissar Fuklaw wants to explain a few things to you about Heresy.
In the 41st millenium, everything is absolutely heretical.
Heresy and you
Deliciously heretical.
Not heresy, probably.
Sisters can't love Sisters!
Half-Xenos cosplaying commissars? EXTRA HERETICAL.
What IS heresy?
Pro-heresy
When viewing this image if the first thing that comes to your mind isn't target practice! or heresy!, then please report to your nearest morale officer for execution. ~~(Unless you hail from Fenris as Leman Russ loves his furry porn)~~ *BLAM*
~~Should not want...~~ *BLAM* Suffer not the furry to live.
Heresy at it's finest..in a horrifying and heretical way, of course.