The American church has long been a leader in the global church in pushing issues like religious freedom and social justice. It's no wonder, too: the Declaration of Independence, the signing of which marked the official beginning of our country's history, names life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness as guiding principles. The preamble to the Constitution says that establishing justice is the first intention of the law of our land.

The Americanists, Catholics in our country's early history who had no trouble fusing their American and Catholic identities, even thought that Catholicism could be best expressed here, where this new type of government was taking shape.

Last year around this time, U.S. Catholic editors reflected on why they're proud to be American Catholics. This year, in honor of our nation's birthday, we want to hear from our readers. Submit your reflections (200-500 words) to our guest blog by emailing onlineeditor@uscatholic.org by Wednesday, July 6, and tell us what you think is unique about being an American Catholic.
 
Over the course of the next week, we'll select the best submissions and post them to our blog.

Happy Independence Day!