freedom of religion
Worship without persecution
Freedom of religion is the right to hold and practice any religious beliefs—or none—without government interference.
Most democratic constitutions guarantee it, though boundaries remain contested: Does freedom of religion permit refusing service to gay couples?
The principle protects both belief and expression of belief, including worship, religious dress, and observance of holy days.
- libertyAbsence of unjust constraint
- apostasyRenunciation of former beliefs
- right to privacyEntitlement to personal seclusion
- due processGuaranteed judicial fairness
- rule of lawSupremacy of established laws
conscientious objection · human rights · liberalism · religious liberty · religious pluralism · religious minorities · constitution · canon law · belief · religious tolerance · prayer in schools · temple · place of worship · persecution · protection · congregation · worship · religious dress
- civil rightsequal protection, equal rights, Civil Rights Act, right to life, Voting Rights Act
- JeffersonDeclaration of Independence, Monticello, University of Virginia, autobiography, inaugural address
- rightscivil liberties, constitutional rights, right, rights, human rights
- human rightshuman dignity, civil liberties, right to liberty, right to life, fundamental rights
- Charter Rightslegal rights, equality rights, democratic rights, language rights, reasonable limits
- ConstitutionBill of Rights, preamble, articles, U.S. Constitution, Article I
freedom of religionstate religion
Government-backed official faith
forced conversion · theocracy · religious persecution · religious intolerance · state church
freedom of religionreligious intolerance
Hostility toward differing faiths
religious discrimination · blasphemy laws · religious censorship · sectarianism
freedom, religion, freely, freer, freedoms, freest, unfree, enfranchisement