Published: 2025-12-22

Concluding a Concordat Marriage as an Exercise of Freedom of Conscience and Religion

Barbara Cichorska Profil ORCID autora Barbara Cichorska
LIBERTAS RELIGIOSA Studium interdyscyplinarne wolności religijnej
Section: Artykuły
DOI https://doi.org/10.21697/lr.16394

Abstract

The choice of marriage as a state of life, like any other decision concerning personal life, is an exercise of freedom of conscience and religion. Freedom of conscience ensures the right to express one’s beliefs and worldview, including the choice of a specific family model.

The Polish legislator implements freedom of conscience and religion by granting people who want to enter into marriage the right to choose the method of its conclusion that is consistent with their values and beliefs. Currently, the Polish legal system provides for two forms of marriage. In addition to the exclusively civil form, the legislator introduced the possibility of concluding a marriage in the presence of a clergyman, which – after meeting certain conditions – is considered to have been concluded in the forum of civil law as well. The aim of the article is to analyse the provisions of Polish law and to attempt to answer the question whether the provisions of Polish marital law regarding the conclusion of marriages facilitate the realisation of freedom of conscience and religion or restrict it. In view of the purpose formulated in this way, the thesis was put forward that the Polish State, despite ensuring freedom of choice of the form of marriage, interferes in the way it is concluded with respect to the clergy, which gives rise to the need for a discussion on the justification for changes to the existing marriage law.

Keywords:

freedom of conscience and religion, concordat marriage

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Citation rules

Cichorska, B. (2025). Concluding a Concordat Marriage as an Exercise of Freedom of Conscience and Religion. LIBERTAS RELIGIOSA Studium Interdyscyplinarne wolności Religijnej, 4, 147–164. https://doi.org/10.21697/lr.16394

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