Andrea Picciotti-Bayer: Civil liberties hinge on religious freedom

"Our civil liberties hinge on our respect for religious freedom," said Andrea Picciotti-Bayer, an attorney focused on civil rights and director of the Conscience Project. "These ideologies demand conformity; they don't allow for dissent. And in that respect, it's very contrary to the American tradition of pluralism and allowing for vibrant debate and disagreement on a range of issues. If you don't allow that, and if people's voices who are inspired by faith are silenced, we've really got a totalitarian situation brewing right now."

Picciotti-Bayer is a legal analyst for EWTN News and columnist for the National Catholic Register, with which the Conscience Project has launched the "Religious Freedom Matters" podcast. Follow her @BayerPicciotti on Twitter.