"To compel a man to furnish contributions of money for the propagation of opinions which he disbelieves and abhors, is sinful and tyrannical."

Thomas Jefferson, The Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom (1779)

Dignitatus Humanae: Declaration on Religious Liberty,
Second Vatican Council

"Everyone should be immune from coercion by individuals, social groups, and every human poser, so that, within due limits, no men or women are forced to act against their convictions... The right to religious freedom is based on the very dignity of the human person."

Address of His Holiness Benedict XVI
to the Bishops of the United States of America on their "Ad Limina" visit
Consistory Hall, Thursday, 19 January 2012

"... it is imperative that the entire Catholic community in the United States come to realize the grave threats to the Church’s public moral witness presented by a radical secularism which finds increasing expression in the political and cultural spheres. The seriousness of these threats needs to be clearly appreciated at every level of ecclesial life. Of particular concern are certain attempts being made to limit that most cherished of American freedoms, the freedom of religion.."

Our First, Most Cherished Liberty: A Statement on Religious Liberty
by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops Ad Hoc Committee for Religious Liberty

"Religious liberty... is about whether we can make our contribution to the common good of all Americans. Can we do the good works our faith calls us to do, without having to compromise that very same faith? Without religious liberty, all Americans suffer, deprived of the essential contribution in education, health care, feeding the hungry, civil rights, and social services that religious Americans make every day... if our obligations and duties to God are impeded, or even worse, contradicted by the government, then we can no longer claim to be a land of the free and a beacon of hope for the world."