Mdd,
“Gaon, Hertzl was born, as we are told, into a secular European family- meaning they didn’t believe in G-d or kept anything and didn’t mind intermarring. It is not, Halochically speaking better than conversion. And again, bear in mind the circumstances of his upbringing.”
With all due respect, there is a major difference in all aspects; from a Halachik perspective and even from a secular perspective, between someone who is just a Ba’al Averia and between someone who is an official Apostate / Meshumad.
Converting was a line that almost every Secular Jew refused to cross…especially mass conversion.
You remind me of a story, there was once a Meshumad who lived St Petersburg in the times of the Czarist rule, who was the official censor of all Jewish Seforim (as only non-Jews were permitted to live there and have a position) . He was actually very helpful in allowing many Seform to be printed. N. Biyalek once came to him with one of his writings and he absolutely refused to permit it, claiming there was ‘kefira’ there, showing him what he meant. Bialik brushed it off saying that it is based on Zohar and that he doesn’t really understand what he meant etc.
On that the Censor replied: “Listen, I know Zohar back and forth as I was the very one that censored it, so please don’t try that trick on me”…
As a last try, Bialik asked him: well, aren’t you a Christian/ meshumad – so what do you care?
Upset – he replied: Hey, you can accuse me of anything, but that is the last thing I will do – trade Judaism for something that dumb as Christianity…(obviously, he converted to obtain the position)…
Asides that, we have the old klal of Rav Chaim of Brisk: Nebech an Apikoras iz OIch An Apikoras” and in sense of Avoda Zara everyone would agree to that Klal.