What is Freedom of Conscience? The meaning of the word "Freedom of Conscience" in popular dictionaries and encyclopedias, examples of the use of the term in everyday life.
Freedom of conscience and religion - Law Dictionary
- the constitutional right of every person to profess individually or jointly with others any religion or not to profess any, to freely choose, change, have and disseminate religious and other beliefs and act in accordance with them, to perform religious rites within the framework of the law. S.s. and in. constitutes the basis of a person’s spiritual freedom, elevates to the rank of a constitutional provision that a person’s conscience is inaccessible to power interference, state-legal regulation. For this reason, the right to C.s. and in. as the absolute right to have and change any religion or belief cannot be restricted by any law. At the same time, the state is called upon to protect religious associations and assemblies based on the requirement of tolerance and religious tolerance. Religious minorities are under the protection of the state and the law in a multi-confessional society. The state is obliged to protect the life, physical and spiritual freedom of members of a religious community from unlawful encroachments, including encroachments by other members of the same community in the process of performing religious and ritual rites. S.s. and in. - this is an individual and collective right, the subjects of which are religious organizations and associations that form a legal entity, as well as religious groups operating without state registration and acquiring the legal capacity of a legal entity. According to the Federal Law of September 26, 1997 "On freedom of conscience and religious associations" S.s. and in. - an inalienable right of citizens of the Russian Federation, guaranteed by the Constitution and international obligations of the Russian Federation. Citizens of Russia, foreign citizens, stateless persons residing in the Russian Federation have the right, in order to exercise freedom of conscience and religion, both individually and jointly, to create appropriate associations - religious and atheistic (see Religious Association). In accordance with the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation (Article 5.26), obstruction of the exercise of the right to freedom of conscience and freedom of religion (including the adoption or rejection of religious or other beliefs, joining or leaving a religious association), as well as insulting religious feelings of citizens or the desecration of objects, signs and emblems of worldview symbols revered by them, entails the application of measures of administrative responsibility - the imposition of an administrative fine. (V.Ch.)
Freedom of Conscience and Freedom of Religion - Law Dictionary
One of the freedoms enshrined in Art. 28 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, which states that everyone in the Russian Federation is guaranteed freedom of conscience, freedom of religion, including the right to profess individually or jointly with others any religion or not profess any, freely choose, have and disseminate religious and other beliefs and act in accordance with them . Very often, freedom of conscience is considered identical with freedom of religion. In principle, these are close, albeit independent, concepts. Freedom of conscience is the freedom of a person's moral and ethical views (what is considered good and evil, virtue or meanness, good or bad deed, honest or dishonest behavior, etc.). Freedom of religion is the ability to believe in the existence of some unusual (divine) being - the most honest, just, humane, thinking about the moral purity of each of us, helping us choose the true path, keeping us from bad deeds, setting us up to help our neighbor (all this and brings it closer to freedom of conscience). Freedom of religion as a legal category is expressed in the right of a citizen to either give preference to some religion (confession), or not to profess any at all. The rights of believers in Russia are guaranteed by the Federal Law on Freedom of Conscience and on Religious Associations of September 19, 1997. According to Art. 14 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, Russia is a secular state. This means that no religion can be established as a state or obligatory one. Religious associations are separated from the state and are equal before the law. Detailing these provisions, this Law names the main guarantees of freedom of religion. All citizens of the Russian Federation are equal before the law in all areas of civil, political, economic, social and cultural life, regardless of their attitude to religion and religious affiliation. No one is obliged to disclose their attitude to religion and may not be subjected to coercion in determining their attitude to religion, to profess or refuse to profess religion, to participate or not to participate in worship, other religious rites and ceremonies, in the activities of religious associations, in teaching religion . Interference with the exercise of the right to freedom of conscience and freedom of religion, including those associated with violence against a person, deliberate insult to the feelings of citizens in connection with their attitude to religion, propaganda of religious superiority, destruction or damage to property, or with the threat of such actions, is prohibited and prosecuted in accordance with the law. An indication in official documents of a citizen's attitude to religion is not allowed. At the same time, the refusal of citizens to perform their duties for religious reasons is not permissible. However, the legislation may provide for such cases the replacement of the performance of one duty by another, including, according to the Constitution of the Russian Federation (Article 59) and the said Law, it is possible to replace military service with an alternative civilian one. The separation of religious associations from the state means, in particular, that the state, its bodies and officials do not interfere in the issues of determining by citizens their attitude to religion, in the legitimate activities of religious associations. The state does not impose on religious associations the exercise of the functions of state authorities, other state bodies, state institutions and local self-government bodies. The activities of public authorities and local self-government bodies, in accordance with the Law, are not accompanied by public religious rites and ceremonies. A religious association does not perform the functions of state authorities, other state bodies, state institutions and local self-government bodies; does not participate in elections to state authorities and local self-government bodies, as well as in the activities of political parties and movements, does not provide them with material and other assistance. Thus, religious associations cannot nominate candidates for deputies and elected positions, and do not conduct election campaigning. Of course, in their personal capacity, members of religious associations have the right, along with other citizens, to participate in political life, to be deputies, elected officials, to speak out for or against candidates. According to the Law, the separation of religious associations from the state does not entail restrictions on the right of their members to participate on an equal basis with other citizens in the management of state affairs, elections to state authorities and local self-government bodies, the activities of political parties, movements and other public associations. The law allows religious organizations to establish their own educational institutions. According to the Law, a religious association in the Russian Federation is recognized as a voluntary association of citizens of the Russian Federation, other persons permanently and legally residing on the territory of the Russian Federation, formed for the purpose of joint confession and dissemination of faith and having signs corresponding to this purpose: religion; performing divine services, other religious rites and ceremonies; teaching religion and religious education of their followers. Religious associations may be created in the form of religious groups and religious organizations. The creation of religious associations in state authorities, other state bodies, state institutions and local self-government bodies, military units, state and municipal organizations is prohibited. A religious group is a voluntary association of believers that carries out its activities without state registration and acquiring the legal capacity of a legal entity (Article 7 of the Law). The premises and property necessary for its activities are provided for the use of the religious group by its members. If the citizens who have formed a religious group intend to transform it into a religious organization in the future, they notify the local self-government bodies of its creation and commencement of activities. Religious organization - a voluntary association of citizens of the Russian Federation, other persons permanently and legally residing in the territory of the Russian Federation, which is registered as a legal entity in accordance with the established procedure. Religious organizations, depending on the territorial sphere of activity, are divided into local and centralized. A religious organization consisting of at least 10 members over the age of 18 and permanently residing in the same locality or in the same urban or rural settlement is recognized as local. A religious organization is recognized as centralized if it consists, in accordance with its charter, of at least three local religious organizations. The name of a religious organization must contain information about its religion. A religious organization is obliged to annually inform the body that registered it about the continuation of its activities. To create a local religious organization, the founders must be at least 10 citizens of the Russian Federation united in a religious group that has confirmation of its existence over the past 15 years, issued by local governments, or confirmation of entry into the structure of a centralized religious organization of the same religion, issued by the specified religious organization. Centralized religious organizations are formed when there are at least three local religious organizations in accordance with their own regulations. A religious organization operates on the basis of a charter, which is approved by its founders or a centralized religious organization and must meet the requirements of the civil legislation of the Russian Federation. State registration of a religious organization is carried out by the federal justice authorities and the justice authorities of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation. Refusal to register may be appealed in court. Religious organizations or religious groups may be liquidated by judicial procedure, their activities may be prohibited on the following grounds: 1. violation of public safety and public order, undermining the security of the state; 2. actions aimed at forcibly changing the foundations of the constitutional order and violating the integrity of the Russian Federation; 3. creation of armed formations; 4. propaganda of war, inciting social, racial, national or religious hatred, misanthropy; 5. coercion to destroy the family; 6. encroachment on the personality, rights and freedoms of citizens; 7. infliction of damage to the morality, health of citizens, established in accordance with the law, including the use of narcotic and psychotropic drugs, hypnosis in connection with their religious activities, the commission of depraved and other unlawful acts; 8. inducement to suicide or refusal on religious grounds to provide medical care to persons in a state of danger to life and health; 9. preventing compulsory education; 10. coercion of members and followers of a religious association and other persons to alienate their property in favor of a religious association: from a religious association; 12. Inducement of citizens to refuse to fulfill their civic obligations established by law and to commit other unlawful acts. A submission to the court on the liquidation of a religious organization or on a ban on the activities of a religious organization or religious group is submitted by the prosecution authorities of the Russian Federation, the body that registers the religious organization, as well as local self-government bodies. Religious organizations are independent in their internal activities. The state respects their internal regulations, if these regulations do not contradict the legislation of the Russian Federation. Religious organizations have the right to found and maintain religious buildings and structures, other places and objects specially designed for worship, prayer and religious meetings, religious veneration (pilgrimage). Citizens and religious associations have the right to freely conduct divine services, religious rites and ceremonies in religious buildings and territories related to them, in places of pilgrimage, in institutions and enterprises of religious organizations, in cemeteries and crematoria, in residential premises. Religious rites are possible in medical and preventive and hospital institutions, orphanages and boarding schools, nursing homes for the elderly and the disabled, institutions executing criminal penalties in the form of deprivation of liberty, at the request of the citizens staying in them in premises specially allocated by the administration for these purposes. Conducting religious ceremonies in the premises of places of detention is allowed subject to the requirements of the criminal procedure legislation of the Russian Federation. The command of military units, taking into account the requirements of military regulations, does not prevent the participation of military personnel in worship services, other religious rites and ceremonies. In other cases, public worship, other rituals and ceremonies are carried out in the manner prescribed for holding meetings, rallies, processions and demonstrations. The law provides that buildings, land plots, industrial, social, charitable, cultural, educational and other facilities, religious items, funds and other property necessary to ensure their activities may be owned by religious associations. Religious organizations have the right of ownership to property acquired or created by them at their own expense, donated by citizens, organizations or transferred to their ownership by the state, or acquired by other legal means. Moreover, the state transfers to the ownership of religious organizations for use in functional purposes religious buildings and structures with land plots related to them and other property of religious purpose free of charge. The state regulates the provision of tax and other benefits to religious organizations, provides them with financial, material and other assistance in the restoration, maintenance and protection of buildings and objects that are monuments of history and culture. (S.A.)
Federal Agency for Education
State Educational Institution of Higher Professional Education "Far Eastern State Technical University
(DVPI named after V.V. Kuibyshev) "branch in Artyom
Department of technical disciplines
abstract
in the discipline "Philosophy"
Topic " Religious values and freedom of conscience »
Gr. AT-(No. 7362) Fedoreeva Ya.V.
Teacher Patsula L.P.
Artyom 2008
1. Introduction ………………………………………………………………………………3
2. Religious values and freedom of conscience ……………………………………….....4
3. Conclusion …………………………………………………………………………....8
4. List of references ……………………………………………………………………...9
Introduction.
Religion(from lat. religion- "shrine", piety, piety) - one of the forms of social consciousness, due to belief in the existence of the supernatural (in a supernatural force or personality). This faith is the main feature and element of any religion (faith) that believers represent.
Other definitions of religion:
- worship of a person to higher powers, in the reality of which he believes as well as in the possibility of interacting with them through prayers, sacrifices and other various forms of worship
- a system of symbols, moral rules, rituals and cult actions, based on the idea of the general order of being
- organized worship of higher powers. Religion not only represents a belief in the existence of higher forces, but establishes special relations with these forces: it is, therefore, a certain activity of the will directed towards these forces.
Conscience- a category of ethics that characterizes the ability of a person to exercise moral self-control, to independently formulate moral duties for himself, to demand from himself their fulfillment and to make a self-assessment of the actions performed; one of the expressions of the moral self-consciousness of the individual. Conscience manifests itself both in the form of rational awareness of the moral significance of the actions performed, and in the form of emotional experiences. In idealistic ethics, conscience was interpreted as the voice of the "inner self", a manifestation of a moral feeling innate in a person, and so on.
Freedom of conscience- the natural right of a person to have any beliefs.
Under religious values it is customary to understand the basic tenets of faith in the supernatural, i.e. the most religiously significant content of religious teachings. Religious philosophy and theology insist on the immutable nature and divine essence of religious values given by Divine revelation, which was communicated to people by Moses (Judaism), Jesus Christ (Christianity), Mohammed (Islam), etc. Materialistic philosophy considers religious values as the result of a fantastic reflection of reality in the minds of people, as a result of the doubling of the world in the mind of man. Along with moral and aesthetic religious values form a specifically human spiritual world, being an essential part of human culture. The freedom to choose one or another religious or non-religious values is the essence of freedom of conscience - one of the most important democratic freedoms of a person in a democratic society.
Religious values and freedom of conscience.
Religious values occupy a very special place in the hierarchy of human goals and values. To one degree or another, the majority of the population of our planet is involved in them. This has been the case throughout the history of mankind, and this is the case even now, at the beginning of the 21st century. This, of course, does not mean that non-believers, freethinkers and atheists are not related to religious values. It is obvious that almost every adult person somehow relates himself to the world of these values.
To understand their essence, it is necessary to turn to the world of religion. Under religion usually understood as a special spiritual and practical connection between people, arising on the basis of a common belief in higher values, which for them are the main meaning of life. Etymologically, the term "religion" means the restoration of the lost connection, because, according to the Christian tradition, after the fall of the first man, such a connection was lost and can be restored in full after the second coming and the complete renewal of man and the world. The main thing in understanding the phenomenon of religion and its role in human life is to understand the essence faith . Etymologically, the term "faith" comes from the ancient Iranian root "var", which means "truth" and "fidelity". In terms of content, faith is understood as a worldview position and at the same time a psychological attitude aimed at realizing the highest meaning of a person's life, not reducible to his biological existence. Faith gives a person absolute confidence in achieving the desired goal (salvation of the soul, resurrection, eternal life, etc.) and in this sense it does not require proof.
This does not mean at all that faith does not need reason and knowledge; moreover, as will be shown below, faith and knowledge complement each other in the complex process of human cognition of the World. There are rational faith based on the supposed probability of this or that event and readiness to believe it, and irrational faith, the essence of which is the absolute conviction in the existence of another world, in comparison with our ordinary, otherworldly world, not subject to physical laws. This world is not parallel to our everyday world and experience, but it is inside us and is no less real than the world of ordinary things and phenomena. Moreover, this supernatural world is revealed to a person in one way or another, one can communicate with it, and, finally, it is given to a person in the words and actions of "saints", "teachers", "prophets", etc. It is this higher world, given to a person in an act of religious faith, is the highest value to which a person gives himself completely.
It is important to emphasize that the world of religious values is not created by man himself, but is given to him in acts of knowledge of God and revelation. Faith or disbelief is freely chosen by a person and is an act of personal self-affirmation, but having made this choice, a person cannot but change internally, change his attitude to the world and people, his behavior. In this sense, it is necessary to emphasize both the similarity and the difference between the religious and philosophical approaches to the realities of the world and man. Philosophy is the awareness of human consciousness itself, its boundaries and possibilities in the sense of solving the most fundamental questions of human existence - about life and death, the meaning of existence and its contradictions, matter and spirit, space and time. Religious consciousness is trying to understand the Revelation, the Creator's plan for man and his history, proceeding from the fact that man in Christian theology is the "image, likeness" of God. If in the classical theory of cognition, which will be discussed further, the object is “given” to the subject depending on its nature and the capabilities of the cognizer, then in relation to God this is impossible in principle.
Indeed, we learn the laws of the physical world to the extent that our instruments and the logic of the scientist's thought penetrate far and deeply into the micro- and macrocosmos. The knowledge of the living is already limited, if only by the fact that we cannot get the living from the inanimate, and the classical principle: “every cell from a cell” remains in force. All the more limited is the knowledge of man, as evidenced by the entire experience of modern bioethics, including the possibilities of genetic engineering, cloning, euthanasia, etc. As for the knowledge of God, Christian theology tells us that only “theophany” is revealed to man. i.e. "the glory of God", and not the very essence of the Creator of the world and man.
From this it is clear that the world of religious values in its essence is that which is open to man as initial premises for following the will of God and fulfilling the Creator's plan. Therefore, asking God questions about the nature of these values or the consequences of their application in a person's real life is at least pointless. Moreover, it is sinful, since the initial appeal to God and his commandments in the Christian tradition should begin with repentance, that is, a complete revision of one's life position and rejection of self-will and pride. A person must “go” to God all his life, fulfill his will, improve himself in the spirit of one or another specific system of religious values. The source of these values is understood differently in the Western and Eastern traditions, but their consequences for human life are in many respects close, which allows us to assert: “the partitions that separate believers on earth do not reach Heaven.”
As modern cultural anthropology testifies, the first signs of the bifurcation of the world in the mind of a person into the real and otherworldly, afterlife appeared about 40,000 years ago. In this era, the burial rite is already fixed and the main thing in it is the preparation of the body of the deceased for the future life (weapons, jewelry, food, household items). At the same time, rock art appears with elements of magical rituals in hunting scenes. In primitive religious beliefs (fetishism, totemism, magic, animism), the main point was the connection between the life and fate of a person with the mysterious world of evil and good spirits, as well as the belief in the existence of the soul after the death of the body and the possibility of its resettlement in new bodies. The whole daily life of a person from birth to death was the continuous fulfillment of rituals and rules, the failure of which entailed severe punishments, up to death. In this era, absolute prohibitions (taboos) are formed on a certain kind of food, on certain types of sexual relations, etc. The words of the Roman poet Statius "Fear created the gods" well illustrate the initial stage of the formation of religious values.
Undoubtedly one of the most important and most attractive religious values for a person is itself idea of god , as the creator of all that exists in the theological sense, or, in the words of modern representatives of freethinking K. Lamont and P. Kurtz, "the illusion of immortality" and "the temptation of the other world." This means that God is not only the creator of the world and man, but also the object of the highest worship, the indisputable and unconditional highest value. It is not for nothing that in Christian dogma the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is considered the most serious sin, and the state of God-forsakenness is considered as the most detrimental for a person. For Islam, the concept of "infidel" or a non-believer can be considered as an object for conversion to the true faith or jihad, i.e. holy war.
If in the West God chooses people, giving them Revelation through prophets and saints, then in Eastern civilizations people themselves choose gods or God and act not by revelation, but on the basis of their own intuition, striving for self-improvement. This implies a different attitude towards the system of religious values among people of different civilizations. In Western religions (Judaism, Christianity, Islam), the choice of faith is made by a person once and, as a rule, for life. Apostasy is seen as betrayal, with all the ensuing consequences. A person must more or less rigidly (especially in Islam) follow the traditional norms of his religion and publicly demonstrate his belonging to this confession. Neglect of this even for a corresponding social sanctions. The religions of the East (Buddhism, Shintoism, etc.) are more “soft” in this regard, not forbidding a person to worship other gods, if this does not contradict his personal beliefs. The East did not know large-scale religious wars, although there are manifestations of fanaticism and extremism there too, Eastern systems of religious values absorb elements of Western ones, giving a person a greater range of choice.
No less important is the practical aspect of confessing one or another system of values, understanding what a person should do daily and hourly. If in relation to God or gods a person builds a vertical relationship, realizing himself as a small particle of creation or the Universe, then now we are interested in the horizontal, i.e. the relationship between people in the light of a particular system of religious values. We are talking about a triangle: God, the world, man, where the world is understood as the natural and social environment surrounding a person. It is known that the essence of Christianity can be expressed in one gospel phrase: "Love God and love your neighbor as yourself." Islam views its adherents as brothers united by a common obedience to Allah. Love for man and the human, the desire for enlightenment underlies the Eastern religious and spiritual systems. The idea of the human in man as divine-human reaches its greatest development in Christianity. In the person of Christ "inseparably and inseparably" two natures were united - divine and human. The task of a Christian is to become like and imitate Christ, and this is seen as the true nature of man. Therefore, relations between people should be permeated with the spirit of love and brotherhood, regardless of age and gender, social status and attitude to property, health and illness, etc.
It is necessary to emphasize the essential difference in the moral attitude of man to God and to people. In the first case, we are dealing with absolute inequality (man is a creation of God, but by no means God himself), from which follows the need to serve God as the highest ideal. At the same time, he who believes in God and loves him with all the strength of his soul cannot help but hate his antipode, the Devil, and cannot help but fight evil, primarily in his soul. In relations with other people, the idea of equality and equivalence comes to the fore, where hostility and struggle are fundamentally unacceptable. However, another person can be a bearer of evil, an opponent of my attitude towards God, and, therefore, it is necessary to fight with him, sometimes to the death. To resolve this paradox in Christianity there is a formula: "Hate sin, but love the sinner." Known answer of Alexander II to the request for pardon Dm. Karakozov, who was put on trial for attempting to assassinate the emperor: “As a person, I forgive him, but as a sovereign I cannot forgive him.”
The correlation of God as the highest ideal and moral value with the value of life and the spiritual world of each person is fraught with another most difficult problem. The point is that a fiery belief in one or another ideal (religious or secular) can lead to cruelty and inhumanity, when millions of human lives are sacrificed to this ideal. In the words of the Russian religious thinker S. L. Frank, “hatred of evil turns into hatred of all living life.” That is why it is so difficult to separate good from evil, value from anti-value, serving the ideal from worshiping an idol. In this sense, absolute moral assessments from the positions of one or another eternal moral ideal are inapplicable to a person. The division of people into good and bad, moral and immoral, "ours" and "not ours" is based on a material approach to a person, ignoring his main essential quality - freedom and the possibility of change. Strict adherence to the norms of religious (confessional) morality, in essence, leads to the fact that representatives of other faiths, and even more so non-believers, are obviously considered as flawed, inferior, who have not mastered true values.
Such a position is especially pronounced among representatives of religious fundamentalism, when such values as the autonomy of the individual, the authority of Reason, the concept of progress, etc. are denied. denial of civil society and human rights. That is why the phenomenon of religious values in all its manifestations, from setting a candle in a temple to the death of a religious fanatic, can be considered in connection with the system of non-religious values.
It's about the phenomenon free-thinking as a peculiar phenomenon of spiritual culture, originating in ancient Eastern and ancient civilizations. Freethinking took various historical forms, such as theomachism, skepticism (P. Bayle and D. Hume), pantheism and deism (many modern and contemporary scientists), atheism and secular humanism, and others. Among the outstanding modern free-thinking scientists are such names as B. Russell, 3. Freud, E. Fromm, J. P. Sartre, J. Huxley, P. Kurtz, K. Lamont and others. They are convinced that a person should to have the courage to critically examine all the phenomena of one's life, including religious faith, while remaining on the positions of sound skepticism. Without rejecting the need for religious values for millions of believers and recognizing that man apparently needs a world of illusions, myths and fantasies to help him survive, they proceed from the fact that transcendental temptation lurks in the heart of man. It cannot be overcome by purely rationalistic conclusions and conclusions, and even more so by force and violence. There is a need for dialogue and discussion, the development of compromises and the interaction of science and religion based on the principle of complementarity within the framework of a universal culture. In any case, it is necessary to avoid the fanaticism associated with the orthodox-dogmatic approach, to cultivate the two main humanistic virtues: reason and courage.
The implementation of these principles is possible subject to one of the most important human rights - the right to freedom of conscience and freedom of religion. This problem in the form of religious tolerance or persecution of non-Christians can be traced throughout history. It has repeatedly been the subject of the most acute political disputes, clashes, including bloody ones, on religious grounds. The state, in one form or another, rather rigidly determined its policy towards religion. In the Russian Empire, all religions were divided into three groups: state (Orthodoxy), tolerant (other Christian denominations, Islam, Buddhism, etc.) and intolerant (various sects). Freethinking and atheism were punished by law. In modern Russia, there is a law "On freedom of conscience and on religious associations" (October 1, 1997), where freedom of conscience is understood as: “the right to profess, individually or jointly with others, any religion or not to profess any, freely choose and change, have and disseminate religious and other beliefs and act in accordance with them.” The law consolidates and protects both the secular nature of the state and the equality of all religions before the law, as well as the right of a citizen to freely choose his attitude to religion. This is especially important since the choice of one or another system of values (both religious and secular) is a purely personal choice of a person, for which he is responsible to his conscience. Moreover, it must be emphasized that in a multinational and multi-confessional state, which is Russia, the national idea must be non-religious, secular. Otherwise, it will be impossible to develop a national identity for all Russians, and society will be doomed to constant confrontation.
Conclusion.
The understanding (and demand) of freedom in the aspect of religious relations in different historical situations was filled with different content. Under the conditions of the union of state and church authorities, the subordination of the church to the state or the state to the church, ideas arose of the independence of the church from the state, mutual non-interference of church and state in each other's affairs. The dominance of some religious direction and the constraint of heterodoxy determined the formation of the principles of religious tolerance, religious freedom, freedom of religious conscience. The emerging religious pluralism led to the idea of the need to recognize the freedom and equality of religions and beliefs. With the formation and development of legal states, the equality of political and civil rights was formulated, regardless of religion. The expansion of the process of secularization contributed to the emergence of ideas about freedom of conscience, the realization of the right not only to practice religion, but also to not practice religion, to atheistic beliefs, and the establishment of secular state education and upbringing.
The historical experience of our country shows the negative consequences of the idea of a state religion and the violation of freedom of conscience associated with it. Under conditions of lack of freedom, religion itself and its values degenerate. Thus, many Russian thinkers associated the social catastrophes that occurred in Russia in the 20th century with the fact that the Russian Orthodox Church, which was in the position of a servant of tsarism, had lost the trust of the people. A significant part of it, freed from the need to double-check their daily existence, has degenerated into a ossified organization that does not meet the demands of life, the spiritual needs of people. And the personality cult of Stalin, in which the state power came to its own self-deification and established itself as the highest value, led to a significant demoralization of society, when class values were placed above kindred and universal ones.
Gaining strength in recent decades ecumenical trend, the essence of which is an attempt to bring together different Christian denominations and other world and national religions to solve global human problems. Indeed, different systems of religious values have much in common, especially in the sphere of religious morality. Regardless of professing or not professing any religion, people would like to live in peace, prosperity, security, love for family and children, etc. In addition, any person, to one degree or another, has a desire for spiritual values, to that goes beyond everyday life, to that which uplifts and strengthens the human spirit. The only and indispensable condition for the cultivation of any system of values is the realization of the right of each person to free choice, respect for the similar right of other people and understanding of the essential unity of the human race.
Bibliography.
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2. Spirkin A.G. Fundamentals of philosophy. Tutorial. Moscow. Ed. "Political Literature". 1998
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4. A.T. Efendiev "Fundamentals of Sociology", Moscow, 1993.
5. Garadzha V.I. "Sociology and Religion", Moscow, Science, 1995.
Religion, freedom of conscience - these are very important issues that inevitably arise in a welfare state. As you know, the main value of our country, according to the Constitution of 1993, is a person, his freedoms and rights. Therefore, the topic that we will cover in this article is very relevant.
First of all, let's define the basic concepts. Freedom of conscience is the right of each of us to believe in God according to the teachings of a particular religion, chosen by us independently, and also to be an atheist, that is, not to believe in him at all. This freedom is especially important in countries where a state religion has been established, which means that there is some pressure on a person, the purpose of which is to force him to accept this religion. In other states where there is no such pressure, freedom is a protection for atheists. In atheistic totalitarian countries, anti-religious propaganda and all kinds of persecution of the church were covered by it.
Definitions of the concept of "conscience"
Conscience in philosophy means an internal criterion of morality in evaluating one's actions, which regulates actions and expressed thoughts, and also limits a person's freedom to certain moral frameworks. Modern researchers define conscience as the ability of an individual to exercise moral self-control in his actions, formulate moral duties and values for himself, demand their fulfillment from himself, and also evaluate the actions that have been committed. At the same time, the personal, individual beginnings of each individual person are emphasized.
The concept of "freedom"
It is possible to single out, considering the concept of "freedom" that interests us, different approaches to its comprehension. In particular, Rene Descartes believed that this is the autonomy and arbitrariness of the will. Freedom can also be considered in an ideal and material sense. Its material side means freedom of action and is limited by the physical capabilities of people and the impact of the laws of nature on each person. Its ideal side depends to a greater extent on the free will of the individual. It is limited to his moral position. Freedom, therefore, means the ability to act in accordance with one's goals, one's own will, and not by external restriction or coercion.
Freedom of conscience - what is it?
If this concept is considered from the point of view of sociology, then this is already a certain spiritual value of society, its important good, which was created as a result of historical social development. However, we are interested in freedom of conscience in the legal aspect. In 1993, the Constitution of the Russian Federation was adopted. Article 28 of this document addresses this issue. Often the freedom of conscience in it is equivalent to religion, it is also identified with atheism or with a choice between them. Nevertheless, conscience and freedom, although they are the core of religious morality, they do not determine the unrestricted choice between denying God and believing in him. Conscience is a spiritual property inherent in every person, regardless of his recognition or denial. It lies in the innate discrimination and knowledge of good and evil. Even in infancy, conscience is laid when parents explain to children what is good and what is bad.
Moral norms determine our internal regulator of actions. A person is guided by them in the external manifestation of his own feelings and thoughts. If he acts shamelessly, he usually bears responsibility for it. At first it is moral, and then it can come legal. Conscience, being an element of moral consciousness, serves to orient a person in the world of right and wrong actions. The tendency to evaluate them from the point of view of evil and good is one of the main features of human nature.
The concept of freedom of conscience in the Constitution of the Russian Federation
In Article 28 of the RF Constitution, the concept of "freedom of religion" is assessed as equal in order to the concept of "freedom of conscience" considered above, but not equivalent to it. In the 52nd article of the Constitution of the USSR, adopted in 1977, freedom of conscience and religion were largely equated as concepts. This article guaranteed citizens the right to independently choose whether or not to profess this or that religion. It also provided an opportunity to conduct anti-religious propaganda and perform various cults, thereby protecting "freedom of conscience." The same is repeated in the 50th article of the Constitution of the RSFSR, adopted a year later. When this document was amended in 1990, it was already noted that freedom of religion and conscience is guaranteed.
"On Freedom of Religion"
The law of the RSFSR, adopted in 1990, on December 25, is called "On Freedom of Religion". The need for it was connected mainly with the religious diversity that has developed historically on the territory of our country. Orthodoxy, Protestantism, Catholicism, Buddhism, Islam, Judaism, as well as various sects of these and other religions that have their adherents, are specific religions. At the same time, joining one or another of them is the realization of freedom of religion. That is, it means the right of citizens to choose a religious teaching, as well as the unimpeded practice of rituals and cults defined by it. This freedom, therefore, is narrower than freedom of conscience in content. In a subjective sense, as a human right, the concept of freedom of religion is equivalent to it.
The following components in freedom of religion can be distinguished: the equality of all religions, as well as believers and their equality before the law, the absence of discrimination of citizens on religious grounds, the ability to change religion, profess any of them, perform various religious rites.
Correlation between freedoms of conscience and religion
Thus, we can conclude that freedom of conscience and religion are correlated as a specific and generic concept, as a private and a general one. Both of them assume that no authority - neither the clergy nor the state - has the right to interfere in the religious life of an individual.
Ensuring the protection of the rights to freedom of religion
Note that every individual has the right to religious freedom. However, using it, one must adhere to the moral principle of social and personal responsibility. The fact is that civil society has the right to protect itself from possible abuses that arise under the guise of religious freedom. Ensuring this protection is a matter for civil authority. It is also her duty to maintain and protect religious freedom by various means, including just laws, and to ensure favorable conditions for the development of religious life in the country.
Law "On Freedom of Conscience and Religious Associations"
As we have already noted, in 1990 the law "On freedom of religion" was adopted. However, this is not the only federal law on freedom of conscience. Let's talk about another very important document.
In 1997, on September 26, the law "On freedom of conscience and on religious associations" appeared. It consists of 3 sections. The first of them are general provisions, the second deals with religious associations, and the third deals with the conditions of activity and rights of religious organizations. The most important principles covered in the first section are as follows:
1) Equality of rights for citizens, regardless of their attitude to religion.
2) Equality before the law of religious organizations must be ensured.
3) The existence of special legislative acts that ensure the implementation of freedom of religion in the country, as well as establish liability for violations of them.
4) The public education system is secular.
In the 3rd article of this law, one can find the principle of freedom of religion, that is, the right of any citizen to choose, disseminate and have any atheistic and religious beliefs, as well as act in accordance with them, but on one condition - the laws of our country should be observed. In the future, it is clarified that equality does not allow for the restriction of rights or the establishment of certain advantages, depending on the person's attitude to religion. It is also unacceptable to incite hatred or enmity in connection with this and insult citizens.
Religious associations are thus separated from the state. This principle presupposes the non-interference of its officials and bodies in matters that determine the attitude towards religion, as well as in the internal activities of various religious associations, of course, if it does not violate the laws of the country. Civil authorities should not fund religious organizations. The same applies to activities in the field of propaganda of various beliefs. Religious associations, in turn, cannot interfere in the affairs of the state. They do not have the right to participate in the elections of governing bodies and authorities, to influence the activities of various political parties. However, the servants of these organizations can participate in political activities, like other citizens and on an equal basis with them.
This law clearly states that public education is secular. Access to it on its basis is provided to all equally, both non-believers and believers. Public education should not pursue the goal of forming one or another attitude towards religion. Consequently, religious preaching, catechesis, teaching the Law of God in educational institutions are unacceptable. Nevertheless, the presentation of the history of religion, as well as its role in the life of man and society, is not excluded. Equally unacceptable is atheistic propaganda, the purposeful and conscious formation of atheistic beliefs among students. Obtaining a religious education, as well as teaching the dogma of a particular religion, is possible only on the basis of a non-state one. Regional organizations for this purpose can create specialized educational institutions, open groups for children and adults, etc. Similar rights are implied for atheistic organizations, although they are not spelled out in the law. The attitude of mutual respect and tolerance between citizens who profess and do not profess certain religions should be expressed in general education programs. Before the law they are all equal, and none should enjoy restrictions or advantages. In matters of belief and faith, the state is neutral.
The second section of this law regulates the right to religious activity and belief. Article 7 provides for the right to change, have and choose religious beliefs, disseminate and express them in print, oral and any other form, perform religious rites impartially, profess any religion, voluntarily join various religious associations, and also leave them. In Article 8 (the law "On freedom of conscience..."), the latter are defined as voluntary associations of citizens who have reached the age of majority, which are formed to exercise the right to freedom of religion. Article 11 of the law "On Freedom of Conscience and Religious Associations" states that they acquire the rights of a legal entity after their charter is registered with the Ministry of Justice or its local bodies. Article 14 stipulates that the activities of a particular religious association can be terminated either by decision of the meeting of its founder or its congress, or in the event of its collapse (self-liquidation), or by a court decision.
Religious associations can also carry out charity and charity, missionary activities, religious education and training, asceticism in sketes, monasteries, etc., pilgrimages, as well as other activities that correspond to the dogma and provided for by the regulation (charter) of this association. The third section regulates the financial and property relations of these organizations. The principles formulated in this law are enshrined in the Constitution of the Russian Federation.
The negative side of the law
The Federal Law "On freedom of conscience ..." also has a negative side. It recognizes as a religious organization only one that has a confirmation of its existence in this territory for at least 15 years, which was issued by local self-government bodies; or a confirmation issued by the said organization that he is a member of a centralized religious organization. However, not all of them can today prove their existence in this period, it is also necessary to take into account the fact that an atheistic policy was pursued in the country until 1991, so that many religious organizations arose quite recently. Therefore, certain difficulties are possible for the registration of a particular religious organization, and, consequently, a new manifestation of bureaucracy. It can also be concluded that the law "On freedom of conscience and religious associations" actually lobbies for Orthodoxy, since for many years it was the only religion allowed in the country. A situation may arise in which, without recognizing other religious movements, local administrations may prohibit them with reference to a clause in it. Thus, it would be advisable to revise the legislation on freedom of conscience, since the Orthodox Church has a monopoly influence on society, and this restricts freedom of religion. According to many representatives of the human rights movement, as well as a number of religious associations, this law is far from perfect. The Russian Helsinki Group, moreover, calls for its abolition. Its representatives believe that freedom of conscience in Russia is violated in this way.
However, this law, despite this, functions to this day. In the government of the Russian Federation, a group has been created and has been working for several years to analyze proposals for its improvement coming from the regions of the country.
positive trend
One of the positive trends in the development of the religious situation in our country is the protection of the rights of believers, as well as the continued improvement of laws. In particular, in the pre-perestroika period, there were many violations, but the courts and the prosecutor's office did not consider cases related to religion. Since the 90s of the 20th century and up to the present day, many such cases have already been considered. In addition, it became possible to amend the 1997 law through the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation. The court has already returned to it several times and rendered appropriate decisions.
Thus, the legislation is currently in the process of improvement. There are requests from human rights organizations and individual believers to improve the articles or to cancel them. True, there is a tendency that comes from some representatives of religious and public organizations and government agencies to revise the principle of the Constitution on the inadmissibility of an officially recognized church or religion in the country. We are talking, of course, about Orthodoxy. Some representatives of the clergy define him as "dominant" in the state. They point to a spiritual mentality, to a large number of believers, to the construction of chapels and temples in state, and not just in independent institutions. Of course, there are problems, and their solution is the most important task facing society and the state.
New amendments to the law
On July 24, 2015, the next amendments to the Federal Law "On Freedom of Conscience and Religious Associations" came into force. From now on, a religious group is considered a voluntary association of citizens, which has notified the Office of the Ministry of Justice of its activities without fail, and also provided information about its leaders, places of worship, and the basics of religion. In the previous version, it was not necessary to report the start of activity. An end was also put to the question of whether a license is needed when organizing catechesis courses, Sunday schools, etc. not necessary.
- Does the right to freedom of conscience mean the ability to act according to one's own ideas of good and evil?
- Is the right to freedom of conscience infringed in connection with the separation of the church from the state and the school from the church?
- Doesn't freedom of conscience mean "freedom of conscience"?
You know that a person develops his own views on the world, people, himself, his place in the world, his attitude to what is happening, i.e. worldview.
Recall that firm views are called beliefs. They are formed on the basis of our knowledge, mind, our feelings and assessments, our actions.
Faith plays an important role in the formation of beliefs.
What is a religious belief? The word "faith" has two aspects, two semantic connotations. One of them actually identifies the word "faith" with the word "trust". It's about trusting your inner conviction. It arises due to human intuition and can be refuted or proven after some time. For example, many young people entering secondary specialized and higher educational institutions, when asked why they want to choose this particular (and not another) specialty, answer: I am sure that I will make a good doctor, or an actor, or an engineer. , or a mechanic, etc. This confidence (if there is, of course, hard work) in the future helps a person to overcome difficulties and achieve high professionalism.
In another sense, the word "faith" has a religious connotation and is used much more often. By the way, in many languages "faith" and "religion" are synonyms.
What is meant by religious belief? First of all, an inner conviction in the existence of a higher power, God (or gods). God, who created the world (or at least controls it), who gave moral standards, frightening and comforting, punishing or rewarding.
Religious belief involves the acceptance of certain statements (dogmas), for example, about the structure and origin of the world, as well as rules of conduct in all spheres of life as coming from God. Therefore, they are accepted as absolutely reliable at all times.
In religious teachings, say Christianity, Buddhism, Islam, the rules of conduct (moral norms) are either formed directly (Mosaic commandments, Christ's Sermon on the Mount), or presented in the form of parables (in this case: religious teaching), often setting forth miracles.
It is faith in miracles, in the supernatural, in the possibility of a miracle performed by God, the recognition and acceptance of an invisible reality as existing (for example, heaven or hell) that are a necessary element of religiosity. So, St. Augustine said: "It is impossible to argue rationally against miracles." In other words, one must either believe in miracles contrary to reason, or abandon religiosity. Faith contrary to reason, religious people believe, is given from above as a "revelation", that is, knowledge that comes from God.
This means that religious belief, in contrast to faith-intuition, not only allows contradictions with real-life practice, but, moreover, involves the perception of miracles, supersensible being as a reality. A religious person believes that the beginning of the world, its core is God. He (God) is the "highest authority", a source of strength and help, giving a person the opportunity to be heard and understood. Therefore, serving God and fulfilling his commands, believers believe, is the meaning of human life.
Thus, religion (religious belief) is one of the options for searching and understanding the meaning of the world and life, one of the possible worldviews.
What is the attractive force and humanistic meaning of religion? For a long time, church leaders, believers were called in our Fatherland "our ideological opponents." Their views were simplified, presented in a caricatured form. Religion was considered to be "the opium of the people", "false flowers on the chains of humanity".
Today, a kind of rehabilitation of religion and religious worldview is taking place in society. Along with traditional believers, there are believers of a special type. Among them are many highly educated people, including natural scientists, in whose minds scientific ideas about the world are combined, the desire to rationally comprehend reality with religious belief.
They recognize the existence not so much of the personality of God, such as Christ, but of a certain higher spiritual force, a supra-worldly rational principle - the Absolute, which determines our moral behavior. Consequently, believers of the new type accept only the general humanistic orientation of the dogma, that is, they consider religious norms of morality as absolute values.
The essence of human and civil rights to freedom of conscience and religion, the ways of their implementation, the characteristics of the role of religions in the history of the peoples of Russia, the legal status of religious associations are enshrined in the law "On Freedom of Conscience and Religious Associations" (1997). The most important provisions of the law are formulated in its preamble. The law confirms the right of everyone to freedom of conscience and religion, as well as to equality before the law, regardless of religion and beliefs. The law indicates that the Russian Federation is a secular state. The law recognizes the special role of religion in the history of Russia, in the formation and development of its spirituality and culture, respects Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Judaism, which, as noted in the law, are an integral part of the historical heritage of the peoples of Russia. The law emphasizes the importance of promoting mutual understanding, tolerance and respect in matters of freedom of conscience and freedom of religion.
Note that even consistent atheists (people who deny the existence of God, the Absolute, the invisible world) are convinced that the sacred books contain a lot of wisdom accumulated over the millennia of human existence, which gives religion a unique attractive force.
Many elements of world culture are embodied in religions and sacred books, it is not only temple architecture and spiritual music, icon painting and utensils, religious philosophy and religious poetry. It is also a cultural and national tradition, that way of life, those foundations that religion has preserved for centuries, which have been passed down from generation to generation. Baptism, communion, Sunday mass, the order of religious festivities and related customs, fasts, and cuisine are not only the prescriptions of religion, but also part of the centuries-old way of life, this is a national tradition. And tradition, as you know, is not created overnight, and a complete rejection of it means a weakening of national roots.
All this strengthens the attractive power of religion.
The right to freedom of conscience and its guarantees. So, we found out that dogmatic ideas about the essence of religion, as well as a biased attitude towards believers, are currently being overcome in society. A citizen independently decides: whether to be an adherent of atheistic (i.e., denying religious faith) beliefs or religious ones; which religion to follow; whether to perform religious rites or not; whether he needs divine authority for the unconditional observance of moral standards or not.
You probably noticed that the free choice of these decisions concerns the spiritual life of a citizen, including its moral aspect. It is no coincidence that the freedom of such a choice is enshrined in a right called the right to freedom of conscience. It, like the right to freedom of belief, thought and speech, refers to civil rights and presupposes freedom of religion and atheism, the absence of a single, mandatory for all religious faith or mandatory non-belief.
This means that the right to freedom of conscience cannot be taken literally. An inveterate criminal, for example, may have his own ideas of good and evil, his "conscience" may approve what, from the point of view of most people, is an undoubted evil. Therefore, freedom of conscience, understood literally, could also mean "freedom of conscience."
We emphasize once again that it is necessary to distinguish the moral and philosophical concept of "conscience" (the ability of an individual to critical emotional and moral self-assessment of their inclinations and actions) from the legal concept of "the right to freedom of conscience".
The latter determines, first of all, a person's attitude to religion. In this regard, we recall that the freedom of moral choice is seen as the ability of a person to decide for himself whether to adhere to atheistic or religious views on the origin of morality. At the same time, any of the solutions implies the recognition of moral norms as unified, obligatory for the implementation of universal values.
We have examined the general meaning of the right to freedom of conscience.
The content of this right is most fully disclosed in Art. 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Art. 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. It includes the following freedoms: a) to adopt a religion or atheistic belief of one's choice; b) have a religion or belief; c) change religion or beliefs; d) to profess religion or belief both individually and jointly, publicly or privately in teaching, worship; e) worship or perform religious and ritual rites; f) to ensure the religious and moral education of their children by parents or legal guardians in accordance with their convictions.
So, according to international human rights standards, everyone can accept, have, change and spread religious beliefs (as well as atheistic ones). Is this right not being infringed upon in connection with the separation of the church from the state and the school from the church, and the assertion of the secular nature of the public education system? After all, international legal acts do not contain requirements for the mandatory separation of church and state! Is not it?
Yes it is. However, in all international covenants on human rights, the principle of equality of citizens, regardless of their attitude to religion, is fixed. It is the leading guarantee of ensuring the right to freedom of conscience.
The consistent implementation of this principle presupposes the separation of the church from the state and the school from the church.
In other words, the state does not interfere in the affairs of religious organizations and does not impose state functions on them, and religious organizations do not interfere in the affairs of state institutions, including public schools. This makes it possible to achieve genuine equality between believers and atheists. Indeed, would not the interests of atheists be infringed upon with the introduction of religious education in all schools? By the way, in those countries where there are state churches and religions, it is more or less difficult to achieve full equality between believers and atheists. That is why the separation of the church from the state and the state school from the church is seen as another guarantee of ensuring the right to freedom of conscience.
In order not to infringe on the interests of believers, the legislation may provide for two types of religious education: 1) in some non-state educational institutions, privately at home or at a religious association; 2) optional at the request of citizens in any educational institution.
In addition, all schools allow the teaching of religious disciplines of an informational nature, without performing religious rites. In the process of studying these disciplines, one gets acquainted with the role of various religions, philosophies, worldviews in the development of culture and morality. This instills tolerance and respect for people who have different religious, atheistic or other worldview beliefs. (Do you agree that this quality is necessary for all people? Justify your answer.)
“Well, is it legal to raise children religiously or atheistically without parental consent?” some of you will ask. And what if, say, parents insist on religious education for their child, but he, a 14-year-old teenager, resists this, because he wants to have a secular education?
In international acts, a norm is fixed, according to which it is not allowed to impose a religious consciousness or atheistic beliefs on a child against the wishes of the parents. Moreover, the best interests of the child are the guiding principle.
So, freedom of conscience is one of the basic civil rights of a person and means, first of all, the freedom of the individual from any ideological control, the right of everyone to independently choose for themselves a system of spiritual values.
- Freedom of conscience.
Basic concepts
- Religious belief.
Terms
Questions for self-examination
- What is a religious belief?
- How is religious faith different from faith-intuition?
- What is the attraction of religion?
- Expand the humanistic meaning of religion.
- What does the right to freedom of conscience mean? Explain why it belongs to the group of civil, protecting rights.
Tasks
- L. N. Tolstoy believed that God is an idea, God is love, but church rituals are the remnants of idolatry, which he ridiculed and rejected (for which he was excommunicated from the official Orthodox Church). With all the uncertainty of his specific ideas about God, he recognized the moral tenets of the doctrine.
- In his “Memoirs”, A. D. Sakharov wrote: “I don’t know, deep down, what my position really is, I don’t believe in any dogmas, I don’t like official churches ... At the same time, I I cannot imagine the Universe and human life without some comprehending beginning, without a source of spiritual “warmth” that lies outside matter and its laws. Perhaps such a feeling can be called religious.
Think about whether A. D. Sakharov's thoughts contradict his judgments about the existence of believers of a special type. Justify your answer.
- Recently, the state media have begun to widely broadcast services and broadcast religious sermons. Express your opinion, maybe it would be more legitimate to give the church, religious and atheistic organizations the opportunity to establish their own, independent media. Justify your answer.
- Recently, a group of parents came to the director of one of the Russian state schools with a proposal to introduce religious education and upbringing in the senior classes.
Guess what the principal did and why.
- You are talking to your peers. He is indignant that in the textbooks in the humanities there is too much, from his point of view, information about religions. “Why do I, an atheist, need this? he asks. “Does the law permit the forced introduction of religious education?” After all, the public school in our country is separated from the church.”
Name what additional information you should get from your peer before answering his questions. What will you say to him in response?
Freedom of conscience - a complex, broad and multifaceted concept - for many centuries has attracted the attention of philosophers, historians, lawyers and religious scholars, as well as governments, parliaments and political parties that put different meanings into the understanding of this category.
Freedom of thought and conscience - in constitutional law - one of the basic personal freedoms of a person, means, first of all, the freedom of the individual from any ideological control, the right of everyone to independently choose a system of spiritual values for themselves. “Conscience, a sense of moral responsibility for one’s behavior before the surrounding people, society” Ozhegov S.I. Dictionary of the Russian language. - M., 1986. - P.611.
In legal theory and practice, rights are understood as the degree of what is permitted, and freedom is the degree of what is possible. But this does not mean that a person cannot exercise his rights if they are not legally enshrined. A number of rights (the so-called natural) belong to a person from birth to death, they are inalienable, not dependent on the government, the state. In philosophy: "the possibility of the subject's manifestation of his will based on the awareness of nature and society" Ibid. - p.611
The close relationship and interdependence of the concepts of "conscience" and "freedom of conscience" is explained by the fact that, according to some scientists, "over a long historical period, many worldview issues were closely related to the religious worldview, were resolved from the standpoint of religious understanding, religious morality.
The right to freedom of conscience is as natural as the right to freedom of speech based on freedom of thought. Moreover, these two rights are closely related. Because a person makes a choice of religion or atheism not only according to the emotional movement of the soul, but often after free and deep reflection about himself, people, the world, happiness, death, the meaning of life, and so on.
Freedom of conscience is an opportunity for a person to manifest his beliefs, views, his worldview, this is the sphere of the inner freedom of the individual, the sphere of spiritual life, to which each of us has the right and which no one can take away.
Religious dogma underlay all ideas about the world, was the starting point for the development and content of jurisprudence, natural science, philosophy, and so on. The influence of religion on the moral sphere was especially significant. Gradually, a special approach was developed to comprehend the freedom of conscience as a concept expressing a person's attitude to religion.
As a subjective right, freedom of conscience is "the right of each person to independently decide whether to be guided by the teachings of religion in assessing his actions and thoughts or to refuse them" Saveliev V.N. Freedom of conscience: history and theory. M., 1991. - S. 93. .
When characterizing a person's attitude to religion, in addition to the concept of "freedom of conscience", the terms "freedom of religion", "religious freedom" are used. The first is often found in legislation, the second - in scientific publications. But are these concepts synonymous with freedom of conscience? G.G. Cheremnykh believes that “freedom of religion can be identified with religious freedom, with freedom of religion: it is the freedom to choose any religion, to belong to any denomination, to choose, have and spread any religious views, to renounce them and change them, participate in religious services, rituals and cults, live in accordance with religious postulates and dogmas, observing them in everyday life, in the family, at work, etc., as well as freedom, not to believe in any gods, not to profess any religion, not have any religious beliefs, treat religion neutrally, indifferently” Cheremnykh G.G. Freedom of conscience in the Russian Federation. M., 1996. S. 20.
The possibility of the full exercise of these freedoms is complete freedom of religion. This does not always happen. A state that supports the dominant religion, encourages its spread among the population, but persecutes those of other faiths or does not allow the transition from one faith to another, cannot thereby grant freedom of religion to its citizens in full.
Freedom of conscience correlates with freedom of religion (or religious freedom) as a specific and generic concept, as a private and a general one. Freedom of religion is only an element of freedom of conscience, since the latter, in the political and legal sense of this category, includes, in addition to freedom of choice of religion and freedom of worship, also the right not to profess religion at all, the right to be an atheist and to have the right and a real opportunity spread atheistic propaganda.
The right to freedom of conscience should include:
First, the opportunity for each person to have his own inner relationship to God, that is, the right to believe or not believe in his existence. At the same time, it is also a human right to be neutral in matters of faith;
Secondly, the right to profess the religion closest to him or to live according to the principle “God is within us”;
Thirdly, the ability to perform religious cults or perform rituals (for example, attend services, baptize your children, marry, bury the dead) in accordance with the canons of your faith, wear any religious attributes or have them at home, etc.
