ABSTRACT
The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) in the 1993 case Kokkinakis v. Greece stated that:
As enshrined in Article 9 [of the European Convention on Human Rights], freedom of thought, conscience and religion is one of the foundations of a ‘democratic society’ within the meaning of the Convention. It is, in its religious dimension, one of the most vital elements that go to make up the identity of believers and their conception of life, but it is also a precious asset for atheists, agnostics, sceptics and the unconcerned. The pluralism indissociable from a democratic society, which has been dearly won over the centuries depends on it. 1
