# rights of conscience



## Scott (Sep 1, 2005)

The quote below is from Peter Wallace's dissertation on the history of American presbyterianism. Is this understanding if the WCF right: "Both the Thirty-Nine Articles and the Westminster Confession insist that while human laws (whether of the church or the state) do not bind the conscience, they do bind practice?" From his dissertation:



> The Reformers affirmed the right of private judgment (insisting that human laws could not bind the conscience), but also insisted that human laws could indeed bind practice. The Thirty-Nine Articles of the Church of England, following a traditional medieval distinction, both affirmed and limited the rights of conscience:
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