Here's What the Religious Right Gets Right

In Sacred Liberty, I offer loads of examples for how the modern claims of persecution by religious conservatives are exaggerated—and how Donald Trump has weaponized religious freedom concerns to sow division and beat up opponents.

But it's important to understand that traditional American Christians are not hallucinating when they express concerns about their own religious status and rights.

Look at it through their eyes.

Religious motivations are denigrated. After the passage of Alabama's anti-abortion law, some progressives claimed that it was a violation of the separation of church and state because the sponsors had religious motivations. "One of the tenets of our democracy is that we have a separation of church and state, and under no circumstances are we supposed to be imposing our faith on other people," said Kirsten Gillibrand. "And I think this is an example of that effort."

Think about the logic. It means that public policy positions that are driven by religion are off the table while stances driven by secular reasons are legitimate. It would be like saying that Democrats could oppose the Iraq