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This Vatican Council declares that the human person has a right
to religious freedom. This freedom means that all men are to be immune
from coercion on the part of individuals or of social groups and of any
human power, in such wise that no one is to be forced to act in a
manner contrary to his own beliefs, whether privately or publicly,
whether alone or in association with others, within due limits.
The council further declares that the right to religious freedom has
its foundation in the very dignity of the human person as this dignity
is known through the revealed word of God and by reason itself.[2]
This right of the human person to religious freedom is to be recognized
in the constitutional law whereby society is governed and thus it is to
become a civil right.
It is in accordance with their dignity as persons-that is, beings
endowed with reason and free will and therefore privileged to bear
personal responsibility-that all men should be at once impelled by
nature and also bound by a moral obligation to seek the truth,
especially religious truth. They are also bound to adhere to the
truth, once it is known, and to order their whole lives in accord with
the demands of truth However, men cannot discharge these obligations
in a manner in keeping with their own nature unless they enjoy immunity
from external coercion as well as psychological freedom. Therefore the
right to religious freedom has its foundation not in the subjective
disposition of the person, but in his very nature. In consequence,
the right to this immunity continues to exist even in those who do not
live up to their obligation of seeking the truth and adhering to it and
the exercise of this right is not to be impeded, provided that just
public order be observed.
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