“have the preferential right and the duty to educate their children.” The State also has the duty to provide special protection for the exercise of this right (supra para. 16). 74. Article 12(1) of the American Convention on freedom of conscience and religion establishes that everyone “has right to freedom of conscience and of religion. This right includes freedom to maintain or to change one’s beliefs, and freedom to profess or disseminate one’s religion or beliefs, either individually or together with others, in public or in private.” Similarly, Article 12(3) indicates that “freedom to manifest one’s religion and beliefs may be subject only to the limitations prescribed by law that are necessary to protect public safety, order, health or morals, or the rights or freedoms of others.” Finally, Article 12(4) stipulates that “parents or guardians, as the case may be, have the right to provide for the religious and moral education of their children or wards that is in accord with their own convictions.” For its part, Article 27(2) of the American Convention establishes that freedom of conscience and religion is one of the rights that cannot be suspended, while Article 1(1) mentions religion as a protected category with respect to any differential treatment that may be discriminatory. 75. This Court has understood that, under Article 12 of the Convention, the right to freedom of conscience and religion allows individuals to maintain, change, profess and disseminate their religion or beliefs and that this right is one of the foundations of a democratic society. Likewise, it has considered that this right, in its religious dimension, “constitutes a transcendental element in the protection of the convictions of believers and in their way of life.” 116 It is clear from the wording of Article 12 that this right has an individual and a collective dimension and that it also includes the right to religious education. In turn, as mentioned previously, the Constitution of Chile recognizes freedom of conscience, the right to express all beliefs and the free exercise of all religions that do not contravene moral standards, accepted customs or public order (supra para. 16). 76. Similarly, Law No 19.638, which establishes norms on the legal constitution of churches and religious organizations, guarantees freedom of religion and worship and indicates that no person may be discriminated against by virtue of his religious beliefs, nor may these be invoked as a reason to suppress, restrict or affect the equality enshrined in the Constitution and the law. Moreover, Article 6 of this Law establishes that freedom of religion and worship, “with the corresponding autonomy and immunity from coercion, implies for every person, at least, the right to: [...] d) receive and impart religious teachings or information by any means; to choose for himself -and parents for minors and guardians for incapable persons under their care - the religious and moral education that is in accordance with his or her own convictions.” 77. Finally, Article 7 of said Law establishes that, “by virtue of religious freedom” and freedom of worship “religious entities are accorded full autonomy for the pursuit of their own objectives and, inter alia, have the following faculties [...] a) To freely exercise their own ministry, to worship, to hold meetings of a religious nature, and to establish and maintain premises for such purposes; b) To establish their own internal organization and hierarchy; to train, appoint, elect and designate the appropriate persons to positions and hierarchies and to determine their denominations, c) To express, communicate and disseminate, by word, in writing or by any other means, their own creed and to proclaim their doctrine.” 78. Within the framework of the OAS, both the American Declaration and the OAS Charter contain provisions on the right of religious freedom and religious education. Thus, Article III of the American Declaration establishes that every person “has the right to freely profess a religious belief and to express and practice it in public,” while Article 45(a) of the OAS Charter indicates that “[a]ll human beings, without distinction as to race, sex, nationality, creed, or social condition, have a right to material well-being and to their spiritual development, under circumstances of liberty, dignity, equality of opportunity, and economic security.” In turn, the Protocol of San Salvador 117 which includes a 116 Case of "The Last Temptation of Christ" (Olmedo Bustos et al.) v. Chile. Merits, reparations and costs. Judgment of February 5, 2001. Series C No. 73, para. 79, and Case of the Río Negro Massacres v. Guatemala. Preliminary objection, merits, reparations and costs. Judgment of September 4, 2012. Series C No. 250, para. 154. 117 Chile has not ratified the Protocol of San Salvador. It is mentioned here for illustrative purposes. 23