Freedom of Thought, Conscience, and Religion

General Overview

In international and national legal frameworks, such as Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and Article 9 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), freedom of thought is generally regulated alongside freedom of conscience and religion. In some countries, including our own, these freedoms are addressed separately in the constitutions. For example, in Turkey, Article 24 of the Constitution regulates freedom of religion and conscience, while Article 25 guarantees freedom of thought and opinion.

When the terms thought, conscience, and religion are examined together, it is stated that these terms encompass the possible attitudes individuals may have towards the world, society, and the supreme being or force—whether divine, superior, rational, or based on chance—that determines the fate of humanity and the world. To better understand these freedoms, it is useful to clarify the meanings of the terms thought, opinion, and conscience and the distinctions between them.

“Thought” refers to the complex activity of human knowledge, while “thoughts” refer to the products of this activity—i.e., the propositions expressed verbally or mentally. The term thought encompasses various outputs of the thinking process, including ideas, understandings, opinions, beliefs, and necessary propositions. However, it does not include knowledge, which can be verified or falsified through various means. In contrast, opinions and beliefs are subjective and are dependent on the individual holding them. What may be an opinion for one person could be a belief for another.

Since freedom of thought, conscience, and religion is a human right, it is also useful to define what we mean by the term human rights. Human rights refer to the fundamental conditions or claims that are essential for the realization of human potential. Some of these rights represent primary conditions for the fulfillment of human capabilities, while others are related to preconditions. For example, the right to education and healthcare are preconditions, while freedom of thought, conscience, and religion represents the essential conditions necessary to allow individuals to express certain aspects of their human potential without obstruction.

For instance, the freedom to introduce new ideas that challenge established taboos must be protected, as it represents the core conditions for a person to exercise their rights to freedom of expression. However, it is important to note that this freedom protects the individual bringing forth such ideas, not the ideas themselves. Otherwise, this could lead to the protection of harmful or illegal speech, such as racist rhetoric, promotion of terrorism, or propaganda. Especially ideas that harm the rights of others, or those propagated under the guise of human rights, do not fall under this protection.

References

[1] Martin Shenin, The Declaration of Human Rights: A Commentary

[2] İoanna Kuçuradi, İnsan Hakları Kavramları ve Sorunları (Concepts and Issues of Human Rights), Türkiye Felsefe Kurumu, p. 108

[3] İoanna Kuçuradi, İnsan Hakları Kavramları ve Sorunları, Türkiye Felsefe Kurumu, p. 108

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