(The following is a summary of Dignitatis Humanae, of the Second Vatican Council.

It
retains the original chapter and numbering according to the actual ordered sections of the
document.)
DECLARATION ON RELIGIOUS FREEDOM
DIGNITATIS HUMANAE
ON THE RIGHT OF THE PERSON AND OF COMMUNITIES
TO SOCIAL AND CIVIL FREEDOM IN MATTERS RELIGIOUS
PROMULGATED BY HIS HOLINESS
POPE PAUL VI
ON DECEMBER 7, 1965

On the Right of the Person and of Communities to Social and Civil Freedom in
Religious Matters

1. The dignity of the human person presses itself on the conscience of man. This
Vatican Council proposes to declare it to be greatly in accord with truth and
justice. God has made known to man the way in which He is to be worshiped,
thus saved by Christ, and these teachings subsist in the Catholic and Apostolic
Church. Religious freedom is necessary to worship God and has to do with
immunity from coercion in civil society.

Chapter 1 – General Principles of Religious Freedom

2. The human person has a right to religious freedom and no one is to be forced
to act in a manner contrary to his own beliefs, whether privately or publicly. This
write has a foundation and the dignity of the human person.

3. The highest norm of human life is the divine law, where every man has the
duty and the right to seek truth in religious matters in order that he may form right
and true judgments of conscience. Man is to follow his conscience in order that
he may not be forced to act in a manner contrary to that, nor should he be
restrained from acting in accordance with his conscience.
4. Religious communities rightfully claim freedom to govern themselves
according to their own norms, should not be hindered by legal measures, or to
teach publicly and witness to their faith.

5. The family has a right to live its own domestic religious life under the guidance
of parents, who have the right to determine the kind of religious education that
their children are to receive.

6. The care of the right to religious freedom to devolves upon the whole citizenry,
upon social groups, government, the Church, and other religious communities.
The protection of these rights is essential to government, who is to see the
quality of citizens before the law.

7. Religious freedom is exercised in human society, hence its exercise is subject

to certain regulatory norms. However the government is not to act in an arbitrary
fashion or in an unfair spirit of partisanship.

8. This Council urges everyone to do their utmost to form men who will respect
the moral order and obedience to lawful authority, and who will be lovers of true
freedom.

Chapter 2 – Religious Freedom in the Light of Revelation

9. The rights of man to religious freedom has in its foundation in the dignity of the
person and its roots in divine revelation.

10. It is one of the major tenants of Catholic doctrine that a man’s response to
God must be free: no one therefore is to be forced to embrace the Christian faith
against his own will.

11. God calls man to serve him in spirit and truth, hence they are bound in
conscience but this day and under no compulsion. We see an example of this
when Jesus sent His apostles into the world saying that those who are baptize
will be saved, and those who are not will be condemned. But He was speaking of
God at harvest time, which is the end of the world, refusing to be a political
messiah who rules by force.

12. Throughout the ages the Church has kept safe and handed on the doctrine
received from the Master and from the apostles. Thus the leaven of the Gospel
has long been about its quite work in the minds of men.

13. Among the things that concern the good of the church and indeed the welfare
of society here on earth is preeminent that the church should enjoy that full
measure of freedom which her care for the salvation of men requires.

14. In order to be faithful to the divine command, “teach all nations,” the Christian
faithful should carefully attend to the sacred and certain doctrine of the Church.

15. The fact remains that men in the present day one to be able to freely profess
their religion in private and in public. Many countries have this freedom, but many
countries don’t. May God grant all of the human family religious freedom.

To study the Documents of Vatican II, I highly suggest doing so with Verbum from
Logos bible software. Verbum is a state-of-the-art library that connects
thousands of resources so that you can study a subject with layers of depth,
analysis, and understanding. For example, each papal/ecumenical document
sources from tens or hundreds of other documents of the Magisterium – and
Verbum connects them all, so that in one click, you can explore and connect the
Tradition of the Church easily and scholarly