The triumph of the mandate, then, holds out the possibility that a major American church may be broken asunder under the pressure of government, and the adherents of its traditional teachings reduced to second-class citizenship, not because of any wrong they have done, but merely because they do not do good in the manner that contemporary liberals expect. We must ask ourselves: What in the world does such a future have in common with American liberalism’s repeated assurances that it stands for pluralism? And, more importantly: Is this an America that most Americans could recognize as truly free?