Religious freedom fight energizes conservatives, spurs backlash against GOP

The divisive battle over gay rights and religious freedoms that broke out this week in Indiana and Arkansas has thrust the nation’s culture wars back onto the front page and exposed just the sort of rift on social issues that Republicans had been wary of as they set the table for their 2016 presidential contest.

Potential GOP candidates have raced to defend the two Republican-dominated states’ legislatures for passing laws insulating businesses from having to conduct transactions that violates their religious beliefs, and GOP analysts say th