Freedom of religion
When people have freedom of religion, they can either belong to any religion they choose, or belong to no religion.
Where there is no freedom of religion, people can be punished and persecuted for not having the right religion. Some countries such as Iran, Burma, Cuba, North Korea, Saudi Arabia and China have also punished people for religious activities.
Freedom Of Religion Media
Muslims praying at the Jama Masjid in India, a majority-Hindu country.
Minerva as a symbol of enlightened wisdom protects the believers of all religions (Daniel Chodowiecki, 1791)
The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen (1789) guarantees freedom of religion, as long as religious activities do not infringe on public order in ways detrimental to society.
Nineteenth century allegorical statue on the Congress Column in Belgium depicting religious freedom
A U.S. postage stamp commemorating religious freedom and the Flushing Remonstrance
The cross of the war memorial and a menorah coexist in Oxford, Oxfordshire, England
Declaration, by Ferenc Dávid of Religious and Conscience Freedom in the Diet of Torda in 1568, painting by Aladár Körösfői-Kriesch
Original act of the Warsaw Confederation 1573. The beginning of religious freedom in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth
Adam Smith argued in favour of freedom of religion.
Women detained at Western Wall for wearing prayer shawls; photo from Women of the Wall