And the point I was trying to make was that views like this aren't always politically motivated; so would you remove from you life someone who held abhorrent views because of religious rather than political beliefs?
Religious rather than political? You're drawing a false distinction. What we're seeing in the US is religious belief given power to form legislation; to directly affect the lives (materially, emotionally) of people who don't share the same religious convictions, but will be forced to exist within its framework (ie women losing access to abortion).
And you seem to imagine you're painting liberals into a corner by assuming that we'll assert strong rejection of certain 'political' positions (to the extent of ending friendships) but suddenly fall silent when you relabel these 'religious', because we're too terribly sensitive about that and therefore we're hypocrites.
Speaking for myself, I don't give a crap whether you label your views political or religious: if they're hateful towards a group of people whose lives have no impact on your own; if you're seeking to impose a universal code of behaviour based on your own supernatural beliefs, regardless of whether people affected share them; if you consider me or my family a lesser form of humanity - then, no, I do not respect your views. If you broadcast them, I'll disagree. If you try to legislate them, I'll protest. I don't care which millennia-old book is telling you to act this way.
If you can't sit next to me on a plane, then you can move. No, we're not friends. We were never friends, if I'm something profane, lesser or provocative because I have ovaries.
If you believe my gay son should be punished, then, no, we're not friends. What the fuck does that tell my son? 'This person thinks you should be stoned to death, but apart from that she's super nice and we're on the PTA together, and I'm a really tolerant person, so I've kept her in my life'.
A person who chooses not to have an abortion is free to do that. She is not free to make my daughter bear, and then raise or relinquish, a child she emphatically does not want. A person who refuses to acknowledge, or expresses revulsion for, same-sex relationships is not my friend. See above. 'Hey, Imaginary Gay Son: Gladys doesn't wish you dead, but she can't stand the sight of you, but I'm a lovely tolerant person who welcomes all mindsets, so she's come to play Scrabble'.
I don't go around asking people their beliefs, looking for something I can disagree with. Believe whatever you want. Live your own life on faith-based or anything-based principles. But the minute you start trying to impose it on others - whether by large-scale legal changes, or just sharing a 'god hates fags' meme on Facebook - I have the right to disagree or disengage.
You can call this bigotry or intolerance, but I think a lot of atrocious, fascist, profoundly intolerant regimes and movements have gained power through people's initial polite reticence: to each his own, live and let live, let's agree to disagree. A lack of opposition is taken for compliance; people preaching hatred feel legitimised and stronger, the objects of this hate feel unsupported and vulnerable, and terrible momentum builds.