OK, I guess I read Byron York's article too fast, failing to note that he was mildly critical of Republican efforts to paint Democrat opposition to the Pryor nomination as religious bigotry. What I did like about York's article was that he noted the strategy, and that Democrats were upset by it. My initial thought was, "good, they deserve to be upset. I'd be worried if they were happy with Republican tactics". I failed to note York's concerns about the strategy, but York's description of the situation is pretty accurate, and the Democrats deserve the criticism.
Reading another point of view clarifies how I feel about the whole thing. The Democrat argument that it can't be religious discrimination because other religions oppose abortion is disingenuous, similar to the man who spiels hate-language regarding "those people" but says he's not racist because he feels the same way about "those other people". The discrimination may not be as blatant as a written sign saying "Catholics need not apply", but as long as nominees who believe abortion is taking innocent life are barred from consideration Ramesh Ponnuru is correct, and so is Jason Steffens; this nomination is being subjected to a religious test.