In her speech at the Tory conference, Baroness Sayeeda Warsi condemned 'the state's continued suspicion of faith.'
She said that under Labour the state has become 'increasingly sceptical of religious belief'.
"It's an agenda driven by the polit
ical elite, who have hijacked the pursuit of 'equality' by demanding a dumbing down of faith."
Much of what has been said over the conference season has been more about political positioning than substance. But two implications here need challenging: that society has become more hostile to religion, and that this is Labour's fault.
Like many recent trends, this can be traced back to 9/11, which yanked religion up the agenda of the national and international debate.
Baroness Warsi herself once told me that 9/11 made her more conscious of her Muslim identity.
When someone commits mass murder in the name of religion, the religious mainstream rightly seeks to define itself against the terrorists, and also defend itself against those who blame an entire religion for the violence.
And when the religious become more assertive, atheists inevitably will too.
It's true that we've seen the emergence of a more militant atheism in literature, for example.
But for every atheist polemicist like Richard Dawkins or Christopher Hitchens, there's a more conflicted agnostic like Julian Barnes or John Humphrys.
Is Labour, as the shadow minister for community cohesion implies, hostile towards religion?
Baroness Warsi cited some examples of hostility towards religion.
"We've all seen the stories, how appalling that in Labour's Britain a community nurse can be suspended for offering to pray for a patient's recovery.
"Or a school receptionist could face disciplinary action for sending an email to friends asking them to pray for her daughter.
"At the heart of these cases lies a growing intolerance and illiberal attitude towards those who believe in God."
At the heart of these cases lies no such thing. These examples are famous because they are rare and will strike most people as barmy.
Religion remains integrated in British culture. Despite regular scare stories about Christmas being cancelled on the grounds of political correctness, Santa remains in rude health. And I'm sure more non-Muslims know their Eid from their Ramadan these days than was once the case.
If anyone is hostile towards religion, it is not the Labour high command of the last decade. Tony Blair and Gordon Brown are both openly and proudly religious.
Under Labour there has been an increase in the number of faith schools.
The Labour government introduced the Racial and Religious Hatred Act, making it an offence to incite hatred against a person on the grounds of their religion.
So what about the media elite?
The BBC remains respectful, broadcasting Thought For the Day on Radio 4 and taking seriously the views of the Archbishop of Canterbury.
When thousands made a pilgrimage to be blessed by the relics of a 19th-century Roman Catholic nun recently, the BBC reported it with a straight face.
I'm sure Baroness Warsi's desire to protect religious people from persecution is genuine and in many respects admirable. But I suspect the threat to religion she evokes is exaggerated, and the distinction she draws between the Conservatives and Labour on this matter is a false one.
