Free to take a stand.

• Author: Doyle, Marilyn
• Position: Online Law

Fundamental: a foundation or basis; underlying.

Freedom: the power to determine action without restraint.

Conscience: inner sense of what is right or wrong; a set of ethical and moral principles.

Freedom of conscience and religion is the first of the fundamental freedoms named in Section 2 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The fundamental nature of this freedom is affirmed by the fact that it is included in so many other human rights documents, for example:

* Article 18, Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) www.un.org/en/documents/udhr

* Article 9, European Convention on Human Rights (1953) www.hri.org/docs/ECHR50.html

* Article 18, International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1976) www2.ohchr.org/english/law/ccpr.htm

* Article 12, American Convention on Human Rights (1978) www.oas.org/juridico/english/treaties/b-32.html

* Article 8, African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights (1981) www.achpr.org/english/_info/charter_en.html

* Articles 1 & 6, UN Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief (1981) www2.ohchr.org/english/law/religion.htm

* Article 14, Convention on the Rights of the Child (1990) www2.ohchr.org/english/law/crc.htm

* Article 10, Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (2000) www.europarl.europa.eu/charter/pdf/text_en.pdf

"It is a difficult concept to study because of its abstract nature, but Freedom of Conscience is without equal in a democratic society as all other rights flow from it. The idea of choice is born out of it. A free conscience is, indeed, the beginning of freedom" says Spirit of Democracy.com (www.unb.ca/democracy/English/Ideas/Freedoms/Conscience/Conscience.html).

The Spirit of Democracy Project is an educational and not-for profit project sponsored by Canadian International Development Agency, the Faculty of Education at the University of New Brunswick and by partners at the Russian Association for Civic Education and Uchitelskaya Gazeta. Their section about Freedom of Conscience provides some thought-provoking reflections on what it might mean to act on one's conscience and includes study suggestions for teachers and students.

Also useful for students and teachers is the United Nations hosted site, Cyber School Bus: Interactive Declaration. This resource provides an explanation of each Universal Declaration article with definitions, plain language and activities to help students understand and...