Welcome to Spain. You can be religiously and conscientiously free. Part 1.

And why do I say this? So that anyone in the world knows the kind of society that we have here and what, in theory, you have the freedom to do, say or think.

First and foremost, starting at the beginning, 'freedom of conscience' can be understood as the capacity of a person to have freedom of thought, to have a clear conscience. Everyone should have the ability to feel free to practice a religion, a political stance or have an opinion without any external pressure - whether they are indifferent, agnostic, atheist or apolitical. All the rights that involve this freedom of thought should never generate a social, legal or political stigmatisation. It is the person as an individual who has an individual conscience and who exercises this freedom of thought. It is a subjective right that if infringed upon, can be defended legally, which in turn obliges the State to establish mechanisms of protection. In addition to being a fundamental right which the Constitution itself provides for recourse, we find its guarantee in Article 53.2.

It is a right regulated by Organic Law that is irrevocable, cannot be seized, nor waived and is not subject to any statute of limitations. In other words, the exercise of these rights and freedoms can only be regulated by law, which must respect their essential content. We can also say that the right to freedom of thought is characterised by its autonomy.

In its concept, freedom of conscience naturally includes the right to the free formation of thoughts and the freedom to have one or more convictions, freedom to express them and freedom to behave in accordance with them.

We can present you with three theories on freedom of conscience:

Firstly, the theory which regards freedom of conscience as a synthesis that takes on other freedoms with different names. It could be ideological freedom or religious freedom. The CC (Constitutional Court) defends this idea, given that it identifies freedom in a generic sense, and refers to it as freedom of secular or religious beliefs, guaranteed by Article 16.

Secondly, another interpretation which includes the first paragraph of Article 16, in other words, ideological and religious freedom.

In some of its rulings, the CC has also adopted this position, referring to the expressions 'freedom of religion, ideology and worship' without mentioning the freedom of belief as a general freedom.

And lastly, a third interpretation of freedom of conscience which separates the freedom of Article 16 into freedom of religion, thought and of liberty. It identifies ideological freedom with freedom of thought and understands freedom of conscience within ideological freedom as the individual with their own moral code and ethics. It is based on international and human rights texts.

Our current Constitution of 1978 has led to an unprecedented period in Spanish history of political normality. One of the elements of the Constitution is that, following the republican experience, it enshrines freedom of conscience. Apart from the Constitution of 1931, all the others reflected state secularity: the Catholic religion is the religion of the State.

We can, therefore, find in Article 16 of our Constitution, and as an evolution of the above, the non-confessional nature of the State, thus as the freedom of conscience falls under the 'ideological, religious and worship freedom' of Spaniards. In turn, declaring that one cannot be obligated to talk about their own beliefs or opinions and no confession shall be considered a state confession, although public powers will be aware of the religious beliefs of the Spanish people and will maintain relations with the Catholic Church and the other faiths.

The State and the public authorities have a positive role in regards to the right to freedom of conscience which consists of an action aimed at its recognition, protection and promotion (article 9.2) and which translates into a legal regulation of its exercise. It therefore leads to, in the words of our Constitution, "the maximum freedom possible" and "the minimum restriction necessary". Public authorities must have the status of being the guarantors of this right, they have to refrain from participating in any action based on religion or any other convictions, and mustn't pressure members of the public to express themselves in one way or another.

Freedom of conscience finds its limitations in the same way as other fundamental rights. Our Constitution preserves the need to maintain public order and safeguard the freedom of the rest as well as their fundamental rights. Live and let live, in short.

Within the general principles that we find in our legal system, with regards to freedom of conscience we find: participation, pluralism and personalisation.

The principle of Participation serves to ensure that equality and freedom of integrated individuals and groups are real and upheld.

The principle of Pluralism included in Article 1.1 of the Constitution as a superior value, can be interpreted as total pluralism, apart from social, cultural or religious pluralism. On the issue of freedom of conscience, pluralism acts as the base from which the person can develop, fulfil or form oneself in freedom with the respect that the freedom of others demands. Public authorities not only protect this, but endorse this, since: on one hand it is a better environment for personal development and on the other it is what gives meaning to a Democratic State.

The principle of personalisation is intimately related to dignity and is well reflected in Articles 10.1 and 16 of our Constitution. The dignity of a person is the legal value that theoretically the state should defend with force, on the basis of which, let us say, all other fundamental rights are built. Therefore, anyone who perceives themselves individually and at the same time is capable of independently deciding what position to take in respect of others and themselves, is a fundamental factor of the right of freedom of conscience. It is logical and normal.

We will continue soon. Best regards.

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