On Religious Bigotry

Joe Knippenberg calls my attention to this offensive piece by Colbert King in today's Washington Post. Joe quotes what he sees as merely the most offensive passage:

They [religious conservatives] are not now and never will be the final arbiters of Christian beliefs and values. They warrant as much deference as religious leaders as do members of the Ku Klux Klan, who also marched under the cross.

Joe also quotes from the Interfaith Alliance’s C. Welton Gaddy, although I can't get the link to work. But here's a taste:

I oppose the election of judges who will, in the name of religion, make decisions that politicize religion and blunt the vitality as well as compromise the integrity of the rich religious community in this nation.

The cause of all this "outrage" is nothing more than Sen. Bill Frist's participation in the Family Research Council's Justice Sunday tomorrow. A leading Senator speaks to a Christian group, and the left becomes unhinged -- again.

So we've seen this week both misinterpretations of the election of Benedict XVI, and now (in an ecumenical insult) barbs directed at conservative Protestants and the politicians who notice them. It seems that the left won't be satisfied until religion really is driven from the public square, or at least neutered and reduced to the recitation of platitudes. They won't succeed, of course, but they'll always be with us.