The issue of religious freedom, raised by all four Republican candidates but identified most strongly with Rick Santorum, finds an interested audience as the contest reaches Illinois.

Last year in Illinois, Catholic Charities and the Evangelical Child and Family Agency were forced to pull out of the foster care business when they refused to license couples in civil unions. The state's six Roman Catholic bishops also have protested a federal mandate requiring Catholic hospitals and universities to cover contraceptives for their employees.

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