Freedom of conscience
Freedom of conscience is the liberty to hold moral or religious convictions and, within legal limits, act according to them.
Freedom of thought: The liberty to form and hold thoughts, beliefs, and opinions without coercion. It protects inward conviction, the foundation of conscience.
Forum internum: The inward domain of thought, conscience, and belief, protected from coercive interference. It names the inner convictions that cannot be compelled or suppressed.
Edict of Milan: A 313 CE agreement that granted religious toleration within the Roman Empire. It marks an early imperial recognition of freedom to practice religion.
Religious establishment: A system in which a state officially endorses or supports a particular religion. It contrasts with the state's neutrality toward individual convictions.
Conscription: Compulsory enrollment of people into a state's armed forces. It raises whether military service must yield to conscientious objection.
Freedom of religion: The liberty to adopt, change, practice, or reject religious belief. Religious conviction is one major domain of conscience.
Forum externum: The outward manifestation of religion or belief through worship, practice, teaching, or observance. It covers actions through which conscience becomes publicly visible.
Peace of Westphalia: The 1648 settlements that ended major European conflicts and reshaped rules of religious and political authority. Its arrangements linked religious settlement to territorial political power.
Religious toleration: Permission for people to practice religions outside an officially favored or dominant faith. Toleration permits difference but can fall short of equal freedom of conscience.
conscientious exemption: An exemption from a legal or institutional requirement granted because compliance conflicts with conscience. It is a practical remedy for conflicts between rules and conviction.