Conservatism is the ideology of Oppression
Going back to old values means indeed going back to more oppression.
Progressive societies always have tried to make more room for tolerance (and freedom).
A good example is what's going on in the EU. There are old democracies and new ones (which used to be dictatorships and have recently completely changed their Constitution).
France and Belgium have rulings against sects while Spain and Portugal tolerate sects more openly. It all depends on the definition between "religion" and "sect".