Since the 1960s, the Southern Poverty Law Center has served as a self-appointed watchdog to track hate groups such as the Ku Klux Klan and the Aryan Nation. Though its efforts have doubtless been helpful in certain areas, the SPLC’s recent (November 24, 2010) list now includes as "hate groups" thirteen upstanding Christian organizations, accused of propagating “known falsehoods” about gays and lesbians. Is this political posturing, personal animus from a lunatic fringe, or an escalation of the conflict between two irreconcilable worldviews, both of which claim the right to be heard in the public square?

You know—the Age of Aquarius, chakras and crystals, Shirley MacLaine’s…