Spirituality: The Dignity of the Human Person, On Religious Liberty, Vatican II

The dignity of the human person is a concern of which people of our time are becoming increasingly more aware. In growing numbers, people demand that they should enjoy the use of their own responsible judgment and freedom, and decide on their actions on grounds of duty and conscience, without external pressure or coercion. They also urge that bounds be set to government by law, so that the limits of reasonable freedom should not be too tightly drawn for persons or for social groups. This demand in human society for freedom is chiefly concerned with the values of the human spirit, above all with the free and public practice of religion.