These United States of America were aimed at achieving principles such as liberty, privacy, freedom, Human Rights etc. However, these principles are based on an ontological philosophy that is deeper than any of those particular principles which is the “Freedom of Conscience” in order to serve a higher being. Freedom on Conscience is an inherently religious idea, meant to push man above the lower pleasures and to be more than beings that exist and deduce reality based on their feelings.

The right to privacy has its roots in the ideas of various philosophers and thinkers, such as John Locke and St. Aquinas, who believed that individuals’ have certain inherent rights that are essential to serving God. According to this Philosophy, individuals must have the freedom to act according to their own will including the freedom to abstain from religious practice if they so choose.

Prior to the establishment of the Constitution in 1787, Secular governments were not common. Most leaders were either religious or influenced by them, and religion played a significant role in the spread of belief and practices. For instance, religions such as Christianity, Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism spread rapidly due to the conversion of kings, monarchs, leaders, and councils to the new religion. Some religions encouraged missionary work and evangelism, while others believed in leading by example to persuade others to convert. However, for over a millennium, religions like Christianity and Islam viewed other religions as idolatrous or inferior and often persecuted their followers and outsiders, treating them as second-class citizens subject to extra taxes and segregation.[2][3]  

The idea of free will in regard to one’s faith was almost prophetic in the 5th century when Augustine of Hippo (aka St. Augustine) wrote about it in his books On Free Choice of Will[4] and The City of God. In the former, he argued that free will is a gift from God that enables people. To choose between good and evil.[5] In the latter, he describes the need for an earthly city and heavenly city, which was meant as a plea for people to stay in the “City of God”.[6] This “City” later got interpreted by philosophers as the religious foundation for a separation of church and state, since political peace was seen a moral neutral insofar as it is a common goal between Christians and non-Christians. However, Augustine was a fierce critic of the Roman Republic due to its religious polytheism, perceived lack of morality and his belief that justice could not be served through politics alone.[7] This underscores the importance of additional moral, philosophical, and religious writers in the development of the modern sense of free will, which was later enshrined as the Freedom of Conscience thought of by the Founding Fathers.[8]

Over the Millenia following St. Augustine’s’ works, influential thinkers like Martin Luther, Roger William, St. Aquinas and John Locke built upon his ideas, leading to a shift in the tenor of free will that was more palatable to the Founding Fathers.

Martin Luther focused Conscience of Freedom (“the inner being of conscientia in the primeval verbum”[9]), which pertains to the way individuals represent their knowledge of self in regard to their initial thoughts, particularly in acting on good and/or evil. For Luther, the Freedom of Conscience was only meaningful if it prevented a governing body (in his case, the Catholic Church)[10] from compelling individual to take specific actions. [11]

Similarly, Roger Williams, often celebrated as the great hero of liberty of conscience, believed that religion could be defined under his notion of conscience (often used as a synonym for religion), which he described as “a perswasion fixed in the minde and heart of a man, which enforceth him to judge … and to doe so and so, with respect to God, his worship, ác.”[12] Williams argued that the basic principles of morality were the product of natural reason or conscience and were known by all persons which that enabled him to distinguish them from religious beliefs, which are the product of revelation.[13] He also believed that a successful society consists solely of Christians, limiting his authority as a controlling figure.[14] Nevertheless, Williams was a crucial influence on the Founding Fathers, as he founded of Rhode Island, became an icon for (Christian) religious freedoms and established the first Baptist church in America.[15]

The Main Constitutional Influence –the Concept of Conscience

John Locke advocated for religious freedoms and outlines three main reasons for religious toleration in his Letters Concerning Toleration (1689-1692).[16] The first reason he listed was that “earthly judges, the state in particular, and human beings generally, cannot dependably evaluate the truth-claims of competing religious standpoints”. This formed the basis of his theory of Freedom of Conscience, which asserts that individuals should not grant the state authority over spiritual matters because objective truth cannot be determined by a governing body.[17]

Locke’s theory of Freedom of Conscience is crucial in preventing the government from policing what truth is. For instance, recent DHS document reveal attempts by the Executive Branch of the United States to decide what constitutes misinformation/disinformation is. This is an example of government over stepping its bounds.[18][19] The government should not be responsible for determining what is Misinformation or Disinformation, because government agencies will conflate the two to achieve their aims.[20] The Disinformation Governance Board faced backlash and was ultimately disbanded because its purpose was misunderstood, and it was ill-equipped to stop alleged disinformation about its mission.[21] The Board’s name suggested the DHS was already doing exactly what it claimed to be preventing name suggested exactly what the DHS was already doing.[22]

By Contrast for St. Aquinas, Conscience was not a capability or power or a physically distinct entity; rather, it was a specific function, namely, the application of knowledge.[23] Aquinas identified three main ways of defining Conscience:

“For conscience, according to the very nature of the word, implies the relation of knowledge to something: for conscience may be resolved into “cum alio scientia,” i.e. knowledge applied to an individual case. But the application of knowledge to something is done by some act. Wherefore from this explanation of the name it is clear that conscience is an act… conscience is said to witness. In another way, so far as through the conscience we judge that something should be done or not done; and in this sense, conscience is said to incite or to bind. In the third way, so far as by conscience we judge that something done is well done or ill done, and in this sense conscience is said to excuse, accuse, or torment.”[24]

However, Aquinas objected to the third definition, arguing that habits play a crucial role in forming conscience and influencing our decision-making. [25] This objection highlights the concept of agency, as habits can limit our Freedom of Conscience in situations where our conscience is already influenced by habits.