Freedom of Religion and Freedom to Hate

I recently read a very insightful and well-argued post by Yawning Bread where he examined the issue of what it means to have "freedom of religion" and the potential conflict this has with individual liberty.

The starting point of freedom of religion which we take to mean respecting the religion of others and refraining from attacking others' religion is good and correct. For without such respect, we would have regressed back to the Middle Ages where people of different religions see each other as infidels worth only to be slain at the earliest opportunity.

However, increasingly we are seeing a reverse of secularism in the world, of heightening religiousity and with it increasing extremism. It is also not unusual now for religious figures to spread hate message using religion as a front. These include the Churches' condemnation of homosexuals in the west and some Muslim clerics' hateful speech on women who do not wear headscarves. The fact is that people around the world cut orthodox religious groups and authorities a remarkable amount of slack all in the name of "freedom of religion." The problem appears to be that no one can really be sure how to step in to intervene in matters involving religion without making it look like an attack on the religion itself, unless it is a clear cut criminal case, for example, of religious leaders been involved in corruption or sexual harrassment.

Personally, I do not believe that religious groups and interests should be treated any differently and given any special privilege over other interest groups; for example, political parties, NGOs championing women issues, environmental issues, etc. In other words, if an authority of a religion uses its own religion as a basis to issue statements and preach messages of condemnation against any group, they should be treated as they really are without the facade of religious and moral high ground, that is; nothing more than spreading a message of hate and discrimination.
Many people have said to me that religion motivates people to do good. I would like to point out that the opposite is true too; that in history, many people have committed great acts of evil in the name of their God(s) just as many people have done the same in the name of patriotism, social justice and political freedom. As secularism retreat in the face of advancing religious awareness, this is something we should do well to remember.