Conscience
Video Resources
What is Conscience?
What is the moral conscience? What role does forming our conscience have in moral decision making?
Concepts
In Catholic theology, conscience is defined as a judgment of reason that helps a person identify and apply moral principles to specific actions, acting as an inner voice that urges one to do good and avoid evil. It requires individuals to obey its dictates while simultaneously obliging them to diligently form it according to Scripture, tradition, and Church teaching.
Core Aspects of Catholic Conscience
Definition & Function: Conscience is not just a feeling, but a rational judgment of the mind that evaluates the morality of an action. It functions to recognize the truth about how to live and guides behavior accordingly.
Voice of God: Deep within, a person discovers a law, inscribed by God, that calls them to obey the good.
Well-Formed Conscience: A conscience must be educated to avoid error. A properly formed conscience aligns with reason and the divine law taught by the Church. Forming a conscience is a lifelong process. It involves studying the Catechism of the Catholic Church, Scripture, the Magisterium, and seeking the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
Primacy of Conscience: While individuals must obey their conscience, this requires that the conscience is well-formed.
Erroneous Conscience: If a conscience is ignored or poorly formed, it can lead to wrongdoing. However, a person is not always guilty if their ignorance is invincible (unavoidable), though they are still obliged to correct their errors. Cultivating virtues like justice, prudence, and fortitude aids in making moral judgments.
Examination: Regular reflection (examination of conscience) is encouraged to align actions with God's will.
Questions & Answers
Conscience is a judgment of reason by which a person decides what is the right thing to do concerning a particular moral act.
Because only the intellect is capable of knowing truth. Emotions can influence us, but they cannot judge moral truth, nor can they be “wrong” in the way a judgment can.
Feelings are effects of conscience, not conscience itself. A person may feel bad or good about an action, but the moral judgment comes from reason, not emotion.
Yes. Because conscience is a function of human reason—and reason is fallible—conscience can make errors, just like we can make mistakes in maths.
Conscience takes a general moral principle (e.g., “Thou shalt not kill”) and applies it to a specific situation (e.g., defending one’s family from an intruder) to determine if something is right or wrong.
Because conscience cannot get rid of or be above moral law. Its role is to apply moral truth, not to invent or dismiss it.
A well‑formed conscience is upright, truthful, and aligned with reality, making judgments according to reason and in conformity with the true good.
Because new moral situations continually arise, and human beings face temptations, biases, and cultural influences that can distort judgment. Ongoing formation keeps conscience sharp and reliable.
Sacred Scripture, Sacred Tradition, and the authoritative teachings of the Church. These provide the truth that conscience must align with.
Because conscience is meant to be guided by truth, and the Church safeguards and teaches that truth. Setting conscience against Church teaching creates a false opposition and leads to moral confusion.