Articles 25 and 26 of Constitution of India: Freedom of Religion
Articles 25 and 26 form part of the Fundamental Rights in Part III of the Constitution of India. Article 25 protects freedom of conscience and the right of every person freely to profess, practise and propagate religion, subject to constitutional limitations. Article 26 protects specified rights of every religious denomination or any section thereof.
Article 25 - Freedom of conscience and free profession, practice and propagation of religion
Article 25 guarantees freedom of conscience and the right freely to profess, practise and propagate religion. The guarantee is not absolute: clause (1) makes it subject to public order, morality and health and to the other provisions of Part III.
Clause (1): Subject to public order, morality and health and to the other provisions of this Part, all persons are equally entitled to freedom of conscience and the right freely to profess, practice and propagate religion.
Clause (2): Nothing in this article affects the operation of an existing law or prevents the State from making a law regulating or restricting economic, financial, political or other secular activity associated with religious practice, or providing for social welfare and reform or for throwing open Hindu religious institutions of a public character to all classes and sections of Hindus.
Explanation I: The wearing and carrying of kirpans is deemed to be included in the profession of the Sikh religion.
Explanation II: For clause (2)(b), references to Hindus include persons professing the Sikh, Jaina or Buddhist religion, and the reference to Hindu religious institutions is construed accordingly.
Meaning of key expressions in Article 25
Freedom of conscience protects a person's inner freedom in matters of faith and belief. Profess concerns declaring or expressing religious belief; practise concerns observance and conduct connected with religion; and propagate concerns communicating or spreading religious beliefs. These freedoms remain subject to the limitations written into Article 25.
State regulation under Article 25(2)
Article 25(2) expressly preserves legislative power over secular activities associated with religious practice and permits laws for social welfare and reform. The constitutional text therefore distinguishes protected religious freedom from economic, financial, political and other secular activity that may be regulated by law.
Article 26 - Freedom to manage religious affairs
Subject to public order, morality and health, Article 26 gives every religious denomination or any section thereof the following rights:
(a) to establish and maintain institutions for religious and charitable purposes;
(b) to manage its own affairs in matters of religion;
(c) to own and acquire movable and immovable property; and
(d) to administer such property in accordance with law.
Religious affairs and administration of property
The constitutional protection for managing affairs in matters of religion is distinct from the administration of property. Article 26(d) itself makes administration of denominational property subject to law. The Supreme Court has repeatedly recognised this distinction when explaining the scope of Article 26.
How Articles 25 and 26 operate together
Articles 25 and 26 protect related but distinct dimensions of religious freedom. Article 25 is framed in terms of the rights of all persons. Article 26 addresses the rights of a religious denomination or a section thereof. Questions involving religious practices may therefore require consideration of individual rights, denominational rights, the express constitutional limitations, and valid laws regulating secular activity or property administration.
Official legal resources
For authoritative constitutional material and current judgments, readers may consult the official Legislative Department - Constitution of India and the Supreme Court of India - Constitution. For case law, use the official Supreme Court judgments search.
Legal note: This page is a general explanation of the constitutional provisions. The application of Articles 25 and 26 depends on the facts, the governing legislation and binding judicial decisions.