The quality or state of being heretical; the degree to which something constitutes or embodies heresy.
From heretical (adjective) + -ness (abstract noun suffix). The -ness suffix allowed theologians to discuss heresy as an abstract quality rather than just as concrete false beliefs, enabling philosophical discourse about the nature of doctrinal error.
The concept of 'hereticalness' reveals that heresy isn't just about holding wrong ideas—it's a social status, and the same belief could range from completely orthodox to dangerously heretical depending on who said it and when.
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