Claims that leftist cultural elites are actively seeking to suppress religious liberty has often been derided by the media as merely ridiculous Christian conspiracy theories or intentionally biased right-wing hyperbole. Yet, when stories such as the Christian bakers being sued and fined for their refusal to bake a cake for a homosexual wedding are presented as evidence supporting conservative claims, the response from the Left is often a denial that it is a religious rights issue because those bakers aren’t a church and it’s the public square. This response portends as sufficient reason to declare any fears of loss of religious liberty to be absolutely unsubstantiated.

Now a report released on Thursday from the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights entitled “Peaceful Coexistence: Reconciling Nondiscrimination Principles with Civil Liberties” states, “The phrases ‘religious liberty’ and ‘religious freedom’ will stand for nothing except hypocrisy so long as they remain code words for discrimination, intolerance, racism, sexism, homophobia, Islamophobia, Christian supremacy or any form of intolerance.” USCCR chairman Martin R. Castro said in the report that “religious liberty was never intended to give one religion dominion over other religions, or a veto power over the civil rights and civil liberties of others.”

And just last week in Massachusetts an official for the state’s Commission Against Discrimination’s Gender Identity Guidance stated in a report, “Even a church could be seen as a place of public accommodation if it holds a secular event, such as a spaghetti supper, that is open to the general public.” The report went on to state that refusing to use a transgender person’s preferred pronoun would be discrimination punishable under Massachusetts law. This law would even apply to churches.

This is no hyperbole or some ginned up fanciful Christian conspiracy theory — this is genuine evidence of just how far the Left has come in advancing its views of sexual license over and against that of religious liberty. This is the very reason why the First Amendment exists, to protect Americans from laws such as this that would coerce them to act against their conscience and religious beliefs. The Left, led by the Rainbow Mafia, has declared itself the thought police of America. Now that an increasing number of laws are on their side, they have the power to force conformity.