We maintain that political realities and the religious values and actions of believers are so interlinked in the perpetuation of our society that we cannot lose the influence of religion in our public life without seriously jeopardizing our freedoms and our prosperity.

With the diminishing of public esteem for religion, the guarantee of free exercise of religion seems to be weakening. Religion is surely under siege by the forces of political correctness that seek its replacement by other priorities.

Some public policy advocates have attempted to intimidate persons with religious-based points of view from influencing or making laws in our democracy.

We should all understand that if one voice can be stilled, every other voice is potentially at risk of being silenced by a new majority that finds others’ arguments too ‘bigoted’ or ‘hateful’ for the public square.