<Table> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> This lead needs additional citations for verification . Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . Unsourced material may be challenged and removed . (September 2014) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) </Td> </Tr> </Table> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> This lead needs additional citations for verification . Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . Unsourced material may be challenged and removed . (September 2014) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) </Td> </Tr> <P> In moral, political, and bioethical philosophy, autonomy is the capacity to make an informed, un-coerced decision . Autonomous organizations or institutions are independent or self - governing . For example, the Roman Catholic Church is governed by its canon law which applies to all Roman Catholic churches which are thus not considered autonomous . Various denominations of Protestant churches usually have more decentralized power, and churches may be autonomous, thus having their own rules or laws of government, at the national, local, or even individual level . </P>

When is autonomy not viewed as a freedom