Difference between a conviction and a preference, according to the U.S. Supreme Court. A preference is a very strong belief, held with great strength. You can give your entire life in a full-time way to the service of the preference, and can also give your entire material wealth in the name of the belief. You can also energetically proselytize others to your preference. You can also want to teach this belief to your children, and the Supreme court may still rule that it is a preference. A preference is a strong belief, but a belief that you will change under the right circumstances. Circumstances such as:
- peer pressure; if your beliefs are such that other people stand with you before you will stand, your beliefs are preferences, not convictions,
- family pressure,
- lawsuits,
- jail,
- threat of death; would you die for your beliefs?
A conviction is a belief that you will not change. Why? A man believes that his God requires it of him. Preferences aren't protected by the constitution. Convictions are. A conviction is not something that you discover, it is something that you purpose in your heart. Convictions on the inside will always show up on the outside, in a person's lifestyle. To violate a conviction would be a sin.