Philip Booth, Professor of Catholic Social Thought and Public Policy, St. Mary’s University, Twickenham

This article is written in a personal capacity as a reflection and should not be taken to be the definitive view of the Catholic Church

Fundamental principles – free will and freedom of conscience

The Catholic Church believes that people should be free in matters of religion. This teaching is laid out in the Church’s key teaching documents, including in Dignatitis humanae (“Declaration on Religious Freedom”), one of the documents of the Second Vatican Council, which stated:

This Vatican Council declares that the human person has a right to religious freedom. This freedom means that all are to be immune from coercion on the part of individuals or of social groups and of any human power, in such ways 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. (2)

This freedom is justified not by social convention but from reason and Christian revelation. Religious freedom arises from the very nature of the human person, made in the image and likeness of God, who is granted free will. Furthermore, as Dignitatis humanae states, the laws of countries, which should reflect our natural rights, should be designed in such a way so as to ensure religious freedom:

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. 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. (2)

The Catholic Church believes that the role of the state is to enforce pre-existing and natural human rights and not to create rights that contradict natural rights. The family and society are prior to the state, and the state exists to protect and promote family and social life and not to subsume it.

The social dimension – freedom to worship and to associate

Catholics believe that we are social beings. We come to fulfilment though a relationship with God and with others, through our families and the wider community. As such, we should be free to profess our religion in community with others, including through collective, public worship. This right should not be denied to any religion unless public order is genuinely under threat. Governments should ensure that all religions can enjoy freedom to worship. Of course, those with no religion should also be free to gather, to socialise, and to promote their views publicly. A government clearly transgresses the limits of its power if it inhibits acts of religious worship. (Dignitatis humanae, 3)

Given the social aspect of religion and our social nature, it is right that we are able to form associations both to promote fraternity and for the promotion of religion itself. This includes clubs, societies, charities, welfare organisations and schools. Workers must also be able to form and join associations and unions to promote the welfare and rights of workers. John Paul II, in a document Centesimus annus emphasised that this was an integral part of Catholic teaching:

Prominent among these [rights]..is the “natural human right” to form private associations. This means above all the right to establish professional associations of employers and workers, or of workers alone. Here we find the reason for the Church’s defence and approval of the establishment of what are commonly called trade unions: certainly not because of ideological prejudices or in order to surrender to a class mentality, but because the right of association is a natural right of the human being, which therefore precedes his or her incorporation into political society…[I]f [the state]…forbids its citizens to form associations, it contradicts the very principle of its own existence”. (Centesimus annus, 7)

Associations that develop should be genuinely autonomous as long as they do not interfere with the common good of society as a whole. This means that they should be free to develop their own rules and mission in accordance with the consciences of their founders or members. By way of example, the Catholic Church opposes assisted suicide in principle and because of its impact on the most vulnerable. However, if assisted suicide were to be introduced, it would be iniquitous if Christian care homes or hospices (or any care home or hospice) could not establish itself and its mission in such a way that it was free not to be involved with assisted suicide. People should be free to enter – or not to enter – a Christian care home assured that it will be allowed to promote a Christian approach to care, including in relation to assisted suicide.

Rule-making and non-state bodies

In keeping with the Church’s belief in the principles of subsidiarity and freedom of association, many problems that are often solved by legislation and regulation by the state can also be addressed in other ways – for example, by civil society, professions and unions. The state is not the only institution that should promote justice, and society is richer if other organisations work effectively to promote the common good. For example, the Catechism of the Catholic Church (2431) states in relation to human rights in economic life: “Another task of the state is that of overseeing and directing the exercise of human rights in the economic sector. However, primary responsibility in this area belongs not to the state but to individuals and to the various groups and associations which make up society.” 

The freedom for people to develop associations, societies, professions, and so on, which may or may not be based on religious principles, is regarded as necessary to promote a rich culture which embraces socialisation rather than radical individualism. The Catholic belief in religious freedom is not a thin and individualistic vision but a radical call for us to live harmoniously in society with the regulation of our lives coming from many sources.

Freedom to educate

The duty to protect freedom of religion and belief includes ensuring that parents can educate their own children in their faith to come to know the love of God in their lives. Of course, as children mature, they are, in turn, free to reject that faith. When it comes to education, the government, therefore, should ensure:

the right of parents to make a genuinely free choice of schools and of other means of education, and the use of this freedom of choice is not to be made a reason for imposing unjust burdens on parents, whether directly or indirectly. Besides, the right of parents are violated, if their children are forced to attend lessons or instructions which are not in agreement with their religious beliefs, or if a single system of education, from which all religious formation is excluded, is imposed upon all. (Dignitatis humanae, 5)

This has been reiterated by other Catholic Church documents, including those specifically on education. 

The Church has been stressed that it would be wrong, for example, to tax the population to pay for state secular schools and then not fund religious schools to the same degree. Those who follow the Christian religion pay taxes too, and they should not have a secular philosophical way of thinking imposed on them through the education system. Of course, if the state funds Catholic schools in the same way as it funds its own schools (as happens in the UK), in a pluralistic society, there is also a case for secular-humanist schools being funded equitably, for example by allowing the establishment of secular-humanist “free schools”. 

It should not be thought that a secular-humanist education is the same as a Christian education with education in religion removed so that children should be forced into a secular education and then receive religious instruction separately in Church groups if their parents desire. A Christian education is based on a different philosophy. It treats all subjects as having a common ethical core; and it educates the whole person in such a way that they can come to a profound understanding of their value as a human person loved by God with an ability to reason and practise love of self and of neighbour. Of course, elements of this may come through education in other religious traditions and in secular education. In a pluralistic society, we do not seek to prohibit such alternative approaches to education, but to ensure that secular and religious schools can exist side-by-side on equal terms. 

The UN Declaration on Human Rights accords with this Catholic view of the freedom of parents to educate their children in accordance with their consciences. It states: “Parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children.” (Article 26, 3). This right should not be restricted by taxing parents to provide free state education and then requiring parents to pay fees for Christian schools so that only the rich can avail themselves of that right – in such circumstances, freedom to educate children in accordance with the conscience of their parents would no longer be a right but a privilege.

Limitations on freedom

Not everything that is permitted by law is morally acceptable. The Church believes in freedom to do good, not merely freedom to do whatever we like. The Catholic Church believes that our words and actions should be orientated towards what is true and good in order to build a flourishing community. In our disagreements; in our promotion of religion; and in our public discourse, we should use our freedom responsibly, speak truthfully and act justly.

The civil law must put some constraints on members of society, both to protect natural rights and human dignity and to promote the common good of all in society. Laws must prohibit violence by individuals and groups, including violence in the name of religion. It is not acceptable to slander people, incite violence, incite racial hatred or intimidate or harass people. The terms “intimidation” and “harassment” have a specific meaning in law and limitations that prevent such activities should not prohibit normal discourse, prayer, debate, argument or public disagreement.

In addition, there are occasions when moral choices are such that they seriously undermine the ability of members of society to live a good life. The Church therefore is supportive of prudent regulation of (for example) addictive drugs, alcohol and gambling and believes that it is necessary, at times, to introduce laws to protect children from neglect or exposure to (for example) pornography or social media. Lay Catholics working in political and civil life are called to make appropriate judgements about the extent of such laws.

Sometimes it is argued that Catholics wish to impose their morality on others in areas such as abortion or embryo experimentation. The right to life is fundamental and must be protected by the state. This is a moral position, but it is one that is shared by many people of other faiths and of no faith. The Catholic Church cares about this issue deeply because she believes that it is the role of the state to protect the weakest and most vulnerable, which includes babies in the womb. As far as the Church is concerned, it is a matter of faith, science and reason that a new human person comes into being at the moment of conception. That human person deserves protection under the law as do all the weakest in society.

The international dimension

Whilst the Catholic Church’s support for freedom and religion and belief has important implications for policy within our country, it also has implications both for personal behaviour and international relations. Attacks on religious freedom involving violence are intolerable. Each year, the Pope makes an important address to the Diplomatic Corps. In his 2025 address, Pope Francis strongly defended religious freedom. Specifically, he stated:

In the end, there can be no true peace without the guarantee of religious freedom, which entails respect for the conscience of individuals and the possibility of publicly manifesting one’s faith and membership in a community. In this regard, the growing expressions of anti-Semitism, which I strongly condemn, and which affect an increasing number of Jewish communities around the world, are a source of deep concern.

Nor can I remain silent about the numerous persecutions against various Christian communities, often perpetrated by terrorist groups especially in Africa and Asia.

For all our concerns about religious freedom in this country, the Catholic Church is a global institution. She believes that, throughout the world, all people should be free from persecution on the grounds of religion. We are far from that position today. The attacks on religious freedom that happen outside our country are growing and often violent. They can involve individuals or groups which should be restrained by law enforcement agencies in those countries. In some cases, states themselves are responsible for violent attacks on religious freedom. We hope that those governments that support religious freedom will work through international bodies in order to ensure that such freedoms are more widely respected.