HALL:

Under the terms of Article 9 (1) of the European Convention on Human Rights, "Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience, and religion." This seemingly self-evident statement does not fully reflect the obstacles and bloodshed that have marked the long journey toward religious freedom in the West—from the exclusion of individuals to the legal and political recognition of this fundamental right. Nor does it account for the new perspectives introduced in Europe by the Reformers, who explored the possibility of remaining united despite institutional separation.
Legal historians specializing in religious issues can examine the origins and evolution of this freedom, from Christian Antiquity to the 1965 declaration Dignitatis humanae of the Second Vatican Council. Furthermore, this historically "subjective" freedom has often been intertwined with the freedom claimed by the Roman ecclesiastical institution, the Holy See, and the Pope, giving rise to a libertas Ecclesiae that served as a bulwark against the claims of secular states and their legal systems. This historical legacy continues, in part, to shape solutions to contemporary challenges surrounding religious freedom - such as secularism, religious symbols, dietary practices, and more - in our increasingly secularized societies grappling with religious pluralism.