Protection of freedom of consciousness and religion: historical aspects and international experience

The study examines the historical aspects and international experience of criminal law protection of freedom of conscience and religion. Stories there are many examples of the oppression of religious minorities or simply Gentiles. To avoid committing such crimes, it is necessary to consider the historical aspect of this problem. After all, in the ancient sets of laws, freedom of conscience was defended. However, in cases where the state-established religion was supposed to be the only correct and permissible, freedom of conscience, on the contrary, was directly violated by criminal law. History suggests that with the excessive criminalization of acts in the field of the protection of religious relations, one can often observe the opposite effect, leading to increased dissatisfaction of the scientific elite of society and intolerance to a part of the population by the majority of members of society. It should be noted that international experience suggests the need to hold events to reduce intolerance on the basis of religious affiliation and preserve the inviolable status of the principle of a secular state.