Judgment No. CCZ 7/16 32 Const. Application No. CCZ 17/15 in a democratic society. Moreover, its exercise cannot justify interference with the rights of others or countenance any harm to public interests. Thus, in the instant case, it is necessary to balance the religious freedom of the applicants and their daughters within their chosen educational environment as against the rights and interests of the School and its institutional values as propounded by its founders. The ethical foundation of freedom of conscience, as guaranteed by section 19 of the former Constitution, was lucidly expounded by Gubbay CJ in In re Chikweche 1995 (1) ZLR 235 (SC) at 242-243: “…. I am of the view that the reference in s 19(1) to freedom of conscience is intended to encompass and protect systems of belief which are not centred on a deity or religiously motivated, but are founded on personal morality.” Having regard to this ethical dimension, it seems to me that every religion, be it Judaeo-Christian, Muslim, Buddhist or Hindu, is essentially rooted in the precepts of morality. The forms of moral expression and observance adopted by each religion may vary according to time, place, culture and tradition. But the transcendent values that animate every religion are universal. They are embedded in the quintessential humanity of its protagonists. Apart from each individual’s personal relationship with his or her own deity, there is the collective bond of human commonality that informs and guides his or her relationship with others. In a libertarian society, what this bond demands is mutual respect and tolerance between individuals, social groups and communities, with the ultimate objective of attaining a truly pluralistic polity.