One of the many flaws in JJ's post is that it also misrepresents what went on with Galileo. He wasn't arrested or condemned for criticising the Establishment viewpoint. He got in trouble instead for presenting his views in a way that essentially said "I'm right and those who disagree with me are a bunch of morons" -- slightly ironic in the context of this thread, perhaps, but crucially different from just saying "The Earth goes round the Sun" and presenting that argument diplomatically.
It was the same with Bruno, whose "heresy" was nothing to do with his scientific views but his philosophy and theology. Not that this makes it any more right to have executed him, but it's still important to get the story straight. Galileo and Bruno got in trouble for religious, not scientific, reasons (and because Galileo was an arrogant prat).