Religious Liberty

Almost a third of Texans are Catholic.

We give back to our communities because our lives are guided by Christ, whose greatest commandment was to love God and our neighbors.

Every year, our schools enroll almost 70,000 Pre-K to high school students.

Six Catholic universities enroll just shy of 30,000 students, and our graduates work, worship, serve, and pray in Texas every day.

More than 5 million babies, children, parents, and elderly receive care from our Catholic Health Systems and residential care centers every year. And more than three-quarters of a million people are assisted by Catholic Charities each year.

Over 1,300 congregations—which we call parishes—have members who care for their sisters and brothers in need. Catholics run soup kitchens, deliver meals to the elderly, collect and donate clothing and furniture, minister to prisoners, welcome immigrants and refugees, provide marriage support, comfort the dying, and care for newborns when their parents can’t.

We educate. We comfort. We counsel. And we pray.

We do all of this because Catholics are called to love our neighbors, whether they are Catholic or not. Yes, we worship on Sundays and pray between Sundays. But our faith compels us to action. We call these acts the works of mercy, and they are central to our lives.

Religious liberty allows Catholic schools, universities, hospitals, charities, and nonprofits to be faithfully Catholic. Religious liberty allows individual Catholics to serve both God and neighbor.

We serve not because every neighbor is Catholic, but because every neighbor is loved by God. And our work makes the Lone Start State a safer, stronger, healthier, and happier home.