Are commissars really allowed to execute guardsmen on accounts

This is not a setting where a heretic is just someone that is an infidel and needs to be killed for not worshiping the one true god.
This is a setting where there's a good chance that a heretic will suddenly explode into a many-limbed abomination that ravenously seeks to consume the men that were once its brothers.

Commissars need to be prepared to spot signs of Chaos worship, especially when fighting Chaos. They can't risk a turncoat in the ranks, especially one that might spontaneously transform into a Spawn of Chaos.

>I mean they aren't part of the ecclesiarchy. They aren't mandated by the Ministorum.

A lot of them are trained by the Schola Progenium though. They're responsible for morale and discipline so it's a safe bet a lot of them are pretty religious.

>>52765690
>I mean they aren't part of the ecclesiarchy.

Does that stop the Divisio Immoralis of the Adeptus Arbites, or the Prefecture Magesterium of the Cult Mechanicus, or the myriad Ordos of the Inquisition? No, heresy is defined, not interpreted by the will of the Ecclesiarchy (at least in theory, in practice they get to bend the rules when the water gets murky depending on their disposition), the entire Adeptus Terra is within their rights to inflict punishment for transgressions of the Imperial Creed, Imperial Tithe and Imperial Law, though obviously each has a general presence within all three aspects of society differing depending on their specialisation.

That being said, a vast majority of Guardsmen executions are not for the violation of the Imperial Creed, but Imperial Law and the duties they signed up to under the Astra Militarum.

For further clarification, being born under the Schola Progenium in a vast majority of cases (a heavily Ministorum-influenced and intertwined institution, might I add), they've effectively been mandated to do their duty, which includes execution of heresy, by the rest of the Adeptus Terra.

>>52765690
Comissars execute for violation of imperial law, disobedience, and cowardice.

It just so happens that all three of these things are also considered heresy under Imperial Law and Ecclesiarchal scripture.

Imperial Law is laid down by the Emperor. The Emperor is infallible and God. Violating the law is disobeying and violating the Emperors will. Heresy, blam

Your superiors are invested with their authority by the Imperial army, which is invested with it's authority by the Emperor. Disobeying your superiors is disobeying the Emperor. Heresy, blam.

Humanity is ascendant and triumphant. Humanity can defeat any threat or challenger. All other races are inferior. Cowardice requires entertaining the notion humanity might lose. Thinking humanity might lose is heresy. Blam.

All that being say, "Heresy *blam*" is a /tg/ meme meant to be short hand for the setting in general. It's not something you actually see happening in the fiction. At most, on rare occasions you see someone getting murked for incompitance or dissidence that is a threat to morale. In general though, Comissars just shoot the disobedient and cowardly. They're political officers.

>>52765747
>>52765763
>>52765841
Was gonna reply to OP before I saw everyone else really comprehensively got it already. Well done.

>>52765763
>No, heresy is defined, not interpreted by the will of the Ecclesiarchy
Well that's not strictly true. Heresy is deviation from mainstream religious doctrine, but we know that the Ecclisiarchy allows Emperor worship to take many forms across the galaxy (usually for ease of assimilation).

But this also means what might be heresy on one planet, isn't heresy on another.

Heresy would/could only be rigidly defined in a broad scope.

>>52765690
Here's the thing. They're not Ecclesiarchy members, but the Schola Progenium is full of clerics who teach those children about the heresy of disbelief. They're given the right to shoot people for treasonous behavior, which IS heresy in the Imperium, but also know some extra things about Chaos and other belief systems so that if their charges start saying or acting strangely, they can determine who's worshiping the Emperor and who's learned more than they're supposed to know. A commissar's right to summary execution covers those bases, but they aren't Inquisitors (that you know of), they didn't become Archbishops, and they certainly aren't privy to every heresy out there, so sometimes it comes down to good judgement.

Imperial Creed of the Day: The Emperor Protects.

>>52765690
They exist outside the chain of command, and have the duty of enforcing the morale and morals of the men they oversee. Are *you* going to tell a commissar he can't execute someone?

>>52765690
>I mean they aren't part of the ecclesiarchy. They aren't mandated by the Ministorum.

Yes they are, this is addressed several times in both Gaunt's Ghosts and Eisenhorn. Commissars are empowered by the Ministorum to act in place of a Priest in certain areas when clergy are not available. Examples are last rights, the Oaths of founding, leading battle field prayers, benedictions, marriages, performing sermons and of course shooting heretics. They are lay clergy and are oathed as such.

>>52765690
In many 40K sources, the whole execution thing is always a last resort when the guardsmen really do need to have a "motivation/discipline" after the latter show violation of law/disobedience/cowardice (or any combination of the three).

As said before, this is a last resort. Commissars use it only when the situation is truly bad that would justify it. Some however, like good old Ciaphas Cain, do it in a different way.

Gaunt never shot anyone from the Tanith, but he did shoot a lot of people from other regiments.

>>52765690
>In fact, does the fluff actually contain any examples of commissars calling someone a heretic, or bringing up the Imperial dogma as a justification for executing a guardsman?

The fluff sometimes suggest that the commissars who abuse of their authority to execute their men too often have a tendency to die from unfortunate accidents though.

>>52765690
>>52765728
>>52765747
>>52765763
>>52765841
>>52770332
>>52770452
>>52772247
>>52772546
As pointed out Commissars ARE Ecclesiarchy members specifically empowered as such for many reasons, not least of all shooting heretics like OP.

Now roll d6 OP: evens Gaunt explains this to you, odds Inquisitor Karamov does.

>>52772493
Plus Cain gives his students training in how to spot Heresy, khorne cults forming etc.
Grimdark Commissars will be overzealous and err on the side of caution, blamming any particularly smelly, horny, devious or savage warriors.