The U.S. bishops released their annual religious liberty report on February 17th. The report warns that religious freedoms in the U.S. are being tested from multiple directions. The timing of the report coincides with the approach of the nation's 250th anniversary. The document serves as a call to action for Catholics across the political spectrum to respond to these threats.
9 days ago
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' Committee for Religious Liberty released its annual religious liberty report on February 17, 2026.1
Issued ahead of America's 250th anniversary, the report warns of multifaceted threats to religious freedom and summons Catholics to respond.1
Archbishop Alexander Sample of Portland, Oregon, chairs the committee and anchors the report in Vatican II's Dignitatis Humanae, emphasizing religious liberty as essential for responding to God without coercion.1
It ties into the bishops' November decision to consecrate the U.S. to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, framing Church engagement as a missionary effort to infuse the temporal order with Gospel values.1
The report highlights violence and threats against places of worship and religious individuals as the top issue, urging a unified response.1
It criticizes unjust conditions on federal grants that pressure Catholic hospitals, schools, and agencies to compromise convictions.1
Access to sacraments for ICE detainees and protections for houses of worship during immigration enforcement are flagged as non-negotiable, transcending immigration debates.1
School choice initiatives, like the Federal Scholarship Tax Credit in the "One Big Beautiful Bill," must include religious freedom safeguards, rooted in subsidiarity.1
The report calls for repealing provisions excluding religious organizations from government programs and rejecting gender ideology in federal policy.1
Catholic institutions operate the largest nongovernmental school system, hospital network, and social services in the U.S., serving the vulnerable out of Gospel mandate.1
Threats to their work come from multiple directions, not one political side, underscoring the bishops' non-partisan moral authority.1
Bishops seek First Amendment protections to allow full Catholic participation in public life, not privileges.1
Catholics across the political spectrum are urged to heed the report as America approaches its semiquincentennial.1
Examine the Catholic Church’s stance on safeguarding religious liberty
The Catholic Church teaches that religious liberty is a fundamental human right grounded in the inherent dignity of the person, ensuring immunity from coercion in matters of faith so that individuals can freely seek, embrace, and practice the truth, particularly the one true religion subsists in the Catholic Church. This stance, authoritatively articulated in Vatican II's Dignitatis Humanae, balances the moral duty to adhere to truth with civil protection against external constraint, while affirming the Church's mission to proclaim Christ without state interference. Safeguarding this liberty fosters justice, peace, and the common good, as echoed in papal encyclicals and contemporary episcopal guidance.
At its core, the Church's doctrine on religious liberty stems from the dignity of the human person, created in God's image with reason and free will. As Dignitatis Humanae declares, "the human person has a right to religious freedom. This freedom means that all men are to be immune from coercion on the part of individuals or of social groups and of any human power, in such wise that no one is to be forced to act in a manner contrary to his own beliefs, whether privately or publicly, whether alone or in association with others, within due limits." This right is not subjective but rooted in nature and revelation: humans are bound to seek religious truth prudently and adhere to it once known, yet cannot fulfill this without psychological and civil freedom from force.
The Catechism reinforces this, stating that "the right to religious liberty is neither a moral license to adhere to error, nor a supposed right to error, but rather a natural right of the human person to civil liberty, i.e., immunity, within just limits, from external constraint in religious matters by political authorities." Revelation illuminates this dignity, as Christ respected human freedom in faith, excluding "every manner of coercion on the part of men" since faith is a free act of submission to God. Thus, no human power can command or prohibit religious acts, though governments must favor the religious life of citizens for the common welfare, without overstepping into coercion.
Popes have long championed religious liberty as essential for Christian life and societal order. Pope Pius XII urged leaders to recognize "no more solid social foundation than Christian teaching and the safeguarding of religious liberty," linking it to justice and charity. Pius XI echoed this, insisting the State must grant the Church "full liberty to fulfill her divine and spiritual mission," countering ideologies like communism that suppress it. In Firmissimam Constantiam, he affirmed that Catholics have the right to "find in civil society the possibility of living according to the dictates of their consciences," reclaiming liberties when attacked. Pius XII further warned against "suppression of civil or religious liberty," tying it to peace and prosperity under divine law.
Pope John Paul II extended this to contemporary contexts, noting that "religious freedom supports and guarantees all other freedoms" and must resist secular pressures that erode inner liberty won "at a great price." These teachings portray religious liberty not as optional but as vital for the Church's evangelical mission and human flourishing.
Vatican II's Dignitatis Humanae synthesizes and advances prior doctrine, professing that "God Himself has made known to mankind the way in which men are to serve Him," binding all to seek truth in the Catholic Church, yet civil society must protect free exercise to avoid injury to God's order. It leaves intact "traditional Catholic doctrine on the moral duty of men and societies toward the true religion," while rejecting state presumption over religious acts. This builds on recent popes' emphasis on personal rights and constitutional limits, responding to modern demands for freedom consonant with faith.
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) applies these principles vigorously today, viewing religious freedom as America's "first and most cherished freedom" rooted in dignity, demanding promotion at home and abroad. In Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship, they invoke Dignitatis Humanae to stress that society benefits from fidelity to God, urging Catholics to form consciences accordingly and defend protections like tax exemptions amid threats. Recent actions, such as letters from committee chairs on religious liberty, underscore ongoing advocacy against policies infringing conscience, like mandates coercing moral violations.
While pre-conciliar documents condemned "religious liberty" as indifferentism (the notion one religion is as good as another), Dignitatis Humanae clarifies it condemns no such error, instead upholding the duty to truth amid pluralistic societies, provided public order is observed. Critics see novelty, but defenders like Ian Ker and Avery Dulles argue continuity: both eras reject arbitrary choice, adapting to contexts where "public order" once assumed Christian foundations. Recent magisterium, including the Catechism and USCCB, takes precedence, affirming development without rupture.
In summary, the Church safeguards religious liberty as a pillar of dignity and faith, immune from coercion yet oriented to truth, as authoritatively taught in Dignitatis Humanae, the Catechism, papal encyclicals, and episcopal documents. This stance calls Catholics to vigilant defense, ensuring freedom serves the Gospel and common good.