ИСТИНА

The doctrine of absolute internal freedom of religion (forum internum) gives a person a possibility to choose, follow, develop and even fully change private thoughts and beliefs on the one hand, and on the other hand makes the state refrain from interference with any fundamental ideas and beliefs. It is difficult to imagine circumstances where the government could succeed in their attempts to prevent to have or to change their religious beliefs. It seems it' only possible within the framework of science fiction stories, like the chipping of the population to control his thoughts. However, is that really unimaginable? Is internal dimension of freedom of religion so absolute as it seems at first glance? It appears that some examples can still be found in legislation and case-law. The paper questions the generally accepted thesis on the absolute nature and impossibility to limit forum internum and reviews European case-law examples illustrating ambiguity of this approach.