Imagine a world in chaos; broken, wandering, struggling.

Imagine a people, clueless

and without morals to guide them. Imagine a community, lacking love, empty and
without purpose. This is the picture of a world without the gift of faith. In our
country, the importance of religion and the freedom to practice it has been cast by
the wayside as trivial and insignificant. Religious freedom affects many aspects of
daily life, especially healthcare, education, and the ability to live out our beliefs. If
no one stands up for this fundamental right, it will undoubtedly be lost.

Healthcare and medical research, two large industries in our country today, are
greatly affected by religious freedom. The moral teaching of the Catholic faith
guides doctors and nurses throughout the country as they work to better the lives of
their patients. They acknowledge unethical research and medical practices, such as
abortion and euthanasia, as wrong and search for alternative methods to help their
patients. Without freedom to exercise the Catholic faith in their profession, these
doctors and nurses would be faced with a life changing decision. To comply with
government policies would contradict their moral foundations, but to resist would
cost them their livelihood. Without religious freedom, the lives of many medical
professionals would be radically different.

Freedom of religion is very much an essential part of education in our country. For
centuries, Catholics have established schools to educate children, relating all their
studies back to God. Still today in Catholic schools throughout the country, students
take classes in theology and learn to integrate faith into their lives. This is made
possible through religious freedom. If the government instituted a national religion
in America, Catholic schools would be forced to close and children could no longer
receive their educational formation in a Catholic environment. Without the strong
foundation of an education centered around faith, many children would begin to
acknowledge faith and studies separately. The unit they were meant to be, skillfully
woven together by God, would be lost. This would indeed prove detrimental to
American society.

Religious freedom also greatly affects the daily lives of those who practice the faith.
As Catholics, we are called to live out our beliefs and bring others to Christ. The
faith shapes the lives of Catholics throughout the country in their words, actions,
and the activities in which they partake. Without this freedom, the lives of faithful
Catholics would be negatively impacted. No longer would the faith be treated as the
center of life, but as something irrelevant, to be hidden and stifled. Without the
moral direction of the faith, many Catholics would be lead astray in their daily lives.
Indeed this freedom plays a vastly significant role in the everyday lives of people
throughout the country.

Healthcare, education and the everyday lives of those committed to the faith are all
greatly influenced by religious freedom. Without this fundamental right, Catholic
nurses and doctors would no longer be able to implement their faith into their work.
Teachers would be forced to eliminate God and His plan for humanity from their
lesson plans. Ordinary citizens would be prevented from following their moral
inclinations in their daily lives, all due to a lack of religious freedom. Religious
freedom is indeed necessary for the prosperity and well being of our country.
Attacks to this essential right have been made, the time for us to step up and fight
for it is upon us.