I have been an ally of the conservative Christian political movement for the last decade. If the portrait now being painted of it were anything close to being true, I would have long ago dissociated myself from it. But in fact, Christians active in politics are now on the receiving end of an extraordinary campaign of bias and prejudice.

Consider a few recent examples. Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chairman Vic Fazio labeled conservative Christians the "fire-breathing Christian radical Right." Texas Gov. Ann Richards calls them "hatemongers." The Anti-Defamation League published a book accusing the "religious Right" of bringing "a rhetoric of fear, suspicion and even hatred" to cultural disagreements. A recent New York Times editorial referred to conservative Christians as "sinister," "retrograde," and "exclusionist."

This is not political discourse. It is argument by invective. It is worth reflecting on how liberals and the mainstream media would respond if similar things were said by conservatives about, say, homosexuals. Or feminists. Or blacks. Or Jews. Or virtually any group actively engaged in politics except conservative evangelical Christians. Such criticisms would, of course, unleash—and rightfully so—a tidal wave of criticism and condemnation. But when it comes to Christians, apparently it is open season.

There are inherent dangers in politicizing religious faith—from the standpoint of politics and religion. And some of the "Christian Right" are guilty of overheated, offensive, and reckless statements. But every political movement has extremists who do not represent the movement as a whole. What is fundamentally unfair is the attempt to take the fringe element of this (or any) movement ...