But now they denounce it as a mere excuse for bigotry

Abstract

A few high-profile struggles transformed the perception of religious liberty. Beginning as recently as 2014, the Left began to regard a few individuals who refused to facilitate same-sex weddings—wedding photographer Elaine Huguenin, Kentucky county clerk Kim Davis, baker Jack Phillips—as the paradigm for religious dissent. Soon the term came to be seen as an excuse for discrimination.