Freedom of conscience as a right

You have the human right to say what you think and to worship who you want, even if others find your religion or your ideas objectionable. In this article you can read where that right comes from.

The previous episode discussed the arguments for freedom of conscience, as formulated in the 16th and 17th centuries by thinkers such as Coornhert, Williams, Locke and Bayle. When it came to religious coercion for the sake of peace, morality, salvation, conscience, or the protection of the true faith, the arguments were gradually swept aside.

At a certai…