In spiritual counseling, if the counselee were to propose an action which violates the common value system, it would be the responsibility of the counselor to call attention to this lack of integrity. One who acts as an ethical counselor, however, does not have this responsibility. Thus the ethical counselor will not try to change a value. Nor will the ethical counselor be called upon to object to the actions of the counselee as long as these actions are in accord with the counselee's value system. One of the most important values that one should stand for is to respect the conscience of other people.
Conscience is the focal point of each person's worth.
Religious people believe that conscience is the contact point with God, and because of relationship to God each person has equal value. People who do not consider themselves religious recognize conscience as the source of freedom, and see in the capacity for freedom the characteristic which endows each person with inalienable rights. When we respect another person's conscience then we respond to a value that transcends any one value system and we establish a basis for human community, even in the face of disagreement about other values. We also establish a means of resolving disagreements because of the bond of community. Though an ethical counselor respects the conscience of the counselee, he or she is not called upon to help the counselee carry out the proposed action.