Freedom of conscience and religion as “constitutional essentials” in the rulings of the Polish Constitutional Tribunal

In the paper I put forward a thesis that it is possible to distinguish two different ways of understanding Rawls’ constitutional essentials – universal and particularistic. The aim of the article is to provide an answer to the question whether there exists such a form of particularistic interpretation that does not compromise its coexistence with the universal interpretation. The answer is based on an analysis of the understanding of freedom of conscience and religion contained in the judgments of the Polish Constitutional Tribunal. Two forms of particularistic interpretation may be identified. The first strengthens the position of minorities, while the second of the majority. The first form may coexist with the universalist constitutional essentials, provided that it eliminates the actual existing inequalities, whereas particularistic interpretation of constitutional essentials is acceptable when it allows for a better implementation of the idea of autonomy.