ABSTRACT
The attempt to exact oaths or to subject persons to tests that are contrary to their conscience "has been the cause of many deplorable conflicts"; and it is not to be assumed that it was the intention of Congress to disregard these conflicts when it prescribed the naturalization oath. Under some circumstances, Chief Justice Vinson said, beliefs may justify inferences when the inferences are drawn by Congress on the basis of its investigations. There are circumstances under which the public has a right to ascertain a certain person's beliefs, for "beliefs are springs to action". The struggle for religious liberty has through the centuries been an effort to accommodate the demands of the State to the conscience of the individual. The victory for freedom of thought recorded in our Bill of Rights recognizes that in the domain of conscience there is a moral power higher than the State.
