Final answer:
The secular and religious views of heretics contrasted in that the church saw heretics as threats to religious doctrine and society, while secular perspectives, evolving during the Renaissance and Reformation, saw heresy through a political lens, with less uniformly negative connotations.
Step-by-step explanation:
The secular and religious views of a heretic contrasted significantly, particularly during the medieval and early modern periods. On the religious front, heretics were viewed by the church as individuals who went against the orthodox teachings of Christianity, jeopardizing not only their own salvation but also the fate of society at large. This was evident through various religious controversies, such as those surrounding religious images in Byzantium, where orthodoxy was tied to both individual salvation and the well-being of the Empire.
Secular views, particularly during the Renaissance and the Protestant Reformation, began to diverge as intellectual currents and dissatisfaction with the church's corruption led some secular leaders to question the church's authority and even support or condone heretical views. Martin Luther's actions, for example, influenced by clerical immorality, ignorance, and absenteeism, led to the rise of Protestantism and a shift in the political landscape where choices to adopt Protestantism often intertwined with political motives rather than purely religious ones. Thus, from a secular viewpoint, being labeled a heretic could have political undertones and consequences.
In essence, the contrast lay in the church's view of heretics as a threat to religious doctrine and the unity of Christendom, while secular views evolved to see heresy in a more political and less uniformly negative light, sometimes even as an opportunity to assert independence from ecclesiastical control.