Maybe Obama or his predecessor won’t use an executive order to rewrite the Sacrament of Holy Matrimony, but government will go after churches all the same. The Cardinal O’Boyle Hall that your parish occasionally rents to outside groups? Better allow gay wedding receptions there or face the wrath of the state.

You’re allowed to be religious, of course, but only on the Sabbath. If you dare step into the world of commerce or public service, the government will impose its morality on you.

You see it in Obama’s rhetoric: he talks of “freedom of worship” rather than freedom of religion. It’s a push to bring to heel all rivals of government. Liberal writer Kevin Drum made it pretty explicit during the contraception mandate debate:

“I’m tired of religious groups operating secular enterprises (hospitals, schools),” he wrote, “hiring people of multiple faiths, serving the general public, taking taxpayer dollars — and then claiming that deeply held religious beliefs should exempt them from public policy.”

The thrust: religious groups should only do religion–they shouldn’t feed the poor, clothe the naked, educate the young.