Because I was under the impression that the utility of this discussion was in using religious communitarian reasoning and goals to achieve public policy ends.

Perceived is the operative word here. Modern day social conservativism, which includes Douthat and Dreher, advocate for all sorts of positions (eg abortion, sexual ethics, minority rights) that are from a progressive perspective absolutely hideous.

Dreher vigorously supported an amendment to the US Constitution to protect “traditional marriage” or as I call it “making sure fags don’t get married.” Douthat, being an orthodox Catholic and an avowed social conservative, hasn’t ever explicitly stated his position on homosexuality so much as dodged the issue by stating that gay marriage is gonna happen and there ain’t much social conservatives do about it, but I am sure his views aren’t that different Dreher’s. And of course Douthat is explicitly on the farthest fringes of the abortion debates, making the charming argument that pro-choicers are eugenicists. Stem cell research anyone?

Which is to say communitarian rhetoric is all well and good, but I don’t think many liberals, and more generally the progressive movement, have a problem with that kind of language or the policy proposals that arise from it. In fact, if the fusionist alliance finally breaks down I actually see a fruitful political relationship with those communitarians.

Most liberals respect religion. In fact, most liberals are religious. The question has never really been about whether liberals hate and dismiss religion but what place religion has a in religiously and ethnically diverse society.

The rubber hits the roads when two groups of people have diametrically opposed beliefs on this issue. What exactly should progressives compromise on in terms of abortion, gay rights etc? There are answers to those questions but once you look at it that way you are having a very old debate, rehashing the same kinds of arguments that have been going on since the sexual revolution. An important debate to be sure, but hardly the same thing as the communitarian discussion and as a consequence I think this communitarian stuff is kinda beside the point.

Now I readily admit there’s a faction of militant atheists within the progressive movement that are as bad as Haidt, Douthat, and Dreher say. But that’s kinda like the libertarians in the conservative movement. They are a bunch of fringe nut jobs. They do have influence. They do affect things. But the proper response to marginalize and ignore them.

So sure social conservatives view reproductive freedom and gay rights as an assault. But so what? As a gay man I actually have to fear physical assault and death threats. But then I guess it’s all a matter of perspective eh?