As America becomes more secular and pluralistic, conservatives are fighting a rearguard battle to protect their rights to speak, worship, and participate in the public square. Some have suggested that conservatives isolate themselves, promising not to offend if left alone. At the same time, ascendant liberals are seizing the opportunity to consolidate their hold on cultural institutions. They are abandoning commitments to open debate and tolerance for minority viewpoints. History is important in this conversation.

While conservatives proudly proclaimed America’s Judeo-Christian heritage, underlying its unique history and future success, liberals saw the nation’s strength in diversity and the protection of individual rights. Conservatives highlighted the Founding Fathers’ religious beliefs, while liberals emphasized their rejection of divine rule and the enlightenment embrace of reason, natural law, self-evident truths, and universal rights.

Today, however, liberals promote a particular notion of America — one devoted to redistribution to address past grievances based on gender, sexual orientation, and race. Conservatives are left largely alone to fight for neutrality and open debate. Liberals have harnessed universities, media, and popular entertainment to transform America’s culture. Universities have come a long way since Harvard University was founded to train Christian ministers. Professors are more likely to defend Marxism than Christianity, free market economics, or Western civilization. Liberal bias in education and the media has hardened to intolerance for opposing viewpoints. Ideological diversity and curiosity are often missing in the places they should be nurtured…