Freedom of religion

Freedom of religion or religious liberty is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or community, in public or private, to manifest religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship, and observance. It also includes the right not to profess any religion or belief[1] or "not to practise a religion" (often referred to as "freedom from religion").[2]

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Freedom of religion is considered by many people and most nations to be a fundamental human right.[3][4] In a country with a state religion, freedom of religion is generally considered to mean that the government permits religious practices of other communities besides the state religion, and does not persecute believers in other faiths or those who have no faith.

Freedom of religion goes beyond freedom of belief, which allows the right to believe what a person, group, or religion wishes, but it does not necessarily allow freedom of practice, the right to practice the religion or belief openly and outwardly in a public manner, which some believe is a central facet of religious freedom.[5] A third term, freedom of worship is of uncertain definition and may be considered to fall between the two terms. The term "belief" is considered inclusive of all forms of irreligion, including atheism, humanism, existentialism or other schools of thought. Whether non-believers or humanists should be considered for the purposes of freedom of religion is a contested question in legal and constitutional contexts. Crucial in the consideration of this liberty is the question of whether religious practices and motivated actions which would otherwise violate secular law should be permitted due to the safeguarding freedom of religion, considered in e.g., (in American jurisprudence) Reynolds v. United States or Wisconsin v. Yoder, (in European law) S.A.S. v. France, and numerous other jurisdictions.