E/CN.4/1998/6/Add.2 page 4 8. This freedom comprises both the individual right of each person to believe in what he wants and the right not to have a belief. It also embodies the right to behave in accordance with one's belief. In addition, article 4, paragraph 3, of the Constitution recognizes the right of conscientious objection to military service. 9. Article 4 of the Constitution does not expressly impose restrictions on these rights and freedoms as regards their manifestations, but obviously they do not apply without limits. These limits originate from the implications of the Constitution, notably concerning the protection of the fundamental rights of others (cf. protection of human dignity, Constitution, art. 1, and right to life and physical integrity Constitution, art. 2, para. 2) or relating to guarantees for common property specially protected by the Constitution. These limits must not be disproportionate to the goals pursued. B. Constitutional guarantees specific to relations between the State, religion and belief 10. The constitutional guarantee of religious freedom is supplemented and spelled out by article 140 of the Constitution, which incorporates articles 136, 137, 138 and 141 of the Weimar Constitution of 11 August 1919 and regulates relations between the State, the Churches and religious communities. 1/ Article 7, paragraphs 2 and 3, of the Constitution guarantees religious instruction in State schools. 11. As reflected in the constitutional provisions since the Weimar Constitution, a separation between religions and the State has been introduced. However, these provisions do not establish the principle of an absolute separation excluding all possibility of cooperation between religion and State. A substantial degree of cooperation has been maintained and manifests itself in various ways: granting of the status of a legal person in public law, protection of church property intended for religious purposes, guarantees to religious entities recognized as public-law communities of the right to levy taxes, practice of worship in the army, hospitals, prisons and other public institutions, and religious instruction in State schools. The rights and advantages arising from this cooperation and benefiting religions with the status of a legal person in public law, including the Catholic and Protestant Churches, are sometimes perceived, notably by authorities in the Länder of the former German Democratic Republic (GDR) and by minority groups and communities in the field of religion and belief, as privileges accorded by the State to the major Churches (such as the levying of tax by the public authorities for the benefit of the major Churches, which are sometimes called “the churches of officialdom”). However, as stated below in section C, these advantages are not related to the religious character of the Church, but to recognition of the fact that it is in the public interest. Other religions recognized as being in the public interest, including that of the Jewish community, also enjoy these rights. In addition, in the specific case of the Protestant and Catholic Churches (the latter formerly having had their assets confiscated without payment of the prescribed indemnity), the benefits granted tend to be regarded as compensation. 12. The principle of neutrality of the State remains, in spite of what has been said above, particularly important in Germany. The State does not, in