The headline – “Christian Group Pushes Biblical Worldview” – could have come from satire sites such as The Babylon Bee or The Onion.

But the folks at the Pueblo newspaper were deadly serious. The two reporters seemed simultaneously shocked, confused and – and maybe a little fearful – that a group of Bible-believing faith-filled Christians are organizing and engaging in political activity in Colorado’s Steel City.

After noting that the group is endorsing candidates and spending money, the story includes the earth-shaking fact that Forging Pueblo is planning to “involve churchgoers in the political process, including recruiting people to go door-knocking and placing yard signs.”

The story even casts a skeptical eye on Pueblo churches distributing voter guides – a practice that is not only perfectly constitutional but has been going on in conservative and liberal churches for decades.

The striking thing about the story is not that a local paper decided to put a spotlight on a group organizing to influence municipal and school board elections.

The undercurrent is that these are Christian activists, conservative ones to boot, and therefore it is fair game to go way beyond an examination of their positions on the issues and suggest they are “pushing” their religious worldview on the people of Pueblo.

Forging Pueblo is, to be sure, highly critical of government schools. And its founders have created a standard conservative platform: an emphasis on parental rights, avoiding left-wing wokeness, sticking to academics and fostering more school choice.

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When have we ever seen a story in the mainstream media about the teacher unions “pushing” their secular, liberal, anti-family worldview on voters?

Here’s a news flash: everyone has a worldview and every office holder – liberal, conservative, secular or religious – brings his or her worldview to the consideration of policy.

It was clear in virtually every paragraph of the story that the reporters have no familiarity with evangelical Christianity or its tenets and made zero effort to try to understand what a Biblical worldview is. Instead, readers got tired stereotypes with a snide undercurrent that perhaps these Christians have no legitimate right to engage in political activity.

Seldom do such stories note that active political involvement by churches and pastors is nothing new, especially on the left. A great example is Ebenezer Baptist Church – Dr. Martin Luther King’s church in Atlanta. There is an annual parade of Democratic candidates making their case from the pulpit.

The issue is not, then, a Christian worldview, but a conservative, Bible-believing Christian worldview.

This same antipathy for Christian conservatives is playing out in the nation’s capital too, with liberals losing their mind that the new House Speaker, Rep. Mike Johnson, is a man of very deep faith – a faith that he not only has lived out personally and professionally, but speaks about openly.

In his first speech after being elected speaker, Johnson made it clear he believes God still guides the nation and all people are called to use their God-given talents to the best of their ability – including serving in public office. He said if people want to know his position on issues, “Pick up a Bible.”

This and other remarks send the left into an anti-religious tizzy, with one calling Johnson a “Christo-fascist.”  He has been compared to the Taliban, Iran and the recent mass shooter in Maine.

Others said House GOP members praying together on the House floor offends the Constitution – even though the House opens every session with a prayer, and the national motto “In God We Trust” is etched in stone above the speaker’s rostrum.

A man of deep faith discussing it openly, reminding his listeners of his belief in the active, living role of God in the world and sharing how devotion to prayer and scripture as foundational in his life wouldn’t get a second thought from the nation’s founders.

Now, whether you are the highest-ranking Republican in the nation or helping to elect school board candidates in one corner of Colorado, your conservative faith values are a cudgel to beat you with.

The goal of the left is simple and overt: de-legitimize Christian tenets and deeply held beliefs in the public square. In their ideal world, a sign would hang on the U.S. Capitol, state capitols and every city hall in the country: “Conservative Christians Need Not Apply.”

Sean Duffy, a former deputy chief of staff to Gov. Bill Owens, is a communications and media relations strategist and ghostwriter based in the Denver area.