Maybe some of us have had a sensitivity bypass.

Maybe some of us are bound for the bad fire. Or maybe some of us are just bemused at the latest outbreak of fundamentalist fury in the ranks of the unco’ guid.

Walk along the east end of Glasgow’s Argyll Street and you’ll see two faces of the modern dear green place. On one side of the road, the splendid Trongate 103 complex imaginatively rehousing sundry art galleries, visual arts workspaces, and the city’s iconic Cossack cafe and restaurant. Cast your eyes instead to the island in the middle of the road, and you may catch the impromptu cabaret regularly staged in front of the current offices of Culture and Sport Glasgow (CSG).

Waving placards and chanting slogans urging the repentance and sacking of CSG boss Bridget McConnell, the tiny band is part of CSG Watch, a spin-off from the Leamington Spa-based Christian Watch. Its pamphlets and website castigate CSG in general and Ms McConnell in particular for what it characterises as “blatant prejudice against Scotland’s most culturally and historically influential group – Christians”.

CSG Watch members have worked themselves into a frenzy over a number of events in the city that caused them offence. Two were staged at Goma: the Made in His Image and sh(OUT)! exhibitions. The latter featured graphic images made by celebrated artists from the Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender communities, and the former ran into trouble over an item inviting visitors to write comments on biblical passages (the Bible was subsequently housed in a protective case to prevent gratuitous vandalism).

The same group then turned its

attention on Jesus, Queen of Heaven, a drama by the trans-sexual playwright John Clifford, and has latterly cited in the

case for the prosecution an artwork made by a Glasgow School of Art student: Deep Fried Bible.

Thus does Glasgow echo a pattern of events in the UK that has included the picketing of theatrical events and

co-ordinated attempts to target high profile individuals whom it has pronounced guilty of blasphemy.

There are several points to be made about all this. The first is that while minorities of any persuasion should enjoy protection and respect for their beliefs, they have no similar right to impose censorship on those who hold different views. And, for good or ill, church-going Scots are one of our country’s minorities.

Secondly, contemporary art is, by its nature, edgy and not infrequently offends the viewer (though it would be idle to be pretend that some artists do not set out to shock in order to provoke reaction and draw attention to their work). That, too, has always been so.

In his fascinating new radio series, A History of the World in 100 Objects, Glaswegian Neil MacGregor, now director of the British Museum, has as one of his earliest choices a small statue of a couple intertwined in the act of sex. You might imagine it prompted its share of outrage when first displayed. With the passage of time, it acquired national treasure status.

Similarly, much of the work in sh(OUT!) was authored by international names such as Hockney and Mapplethorpe. If only “safe” art was considered acceptable, the world would be stuck in a timewarp of cave wall still-lifes.

Finally, and not incidentally, Glasgow built and runs the St Mungo museum devoted entirely to paying homage to religion and its artefacts. Rumour has it those calling for Ms McConnell’s head to meet the same fate as John the Baptist’s are also demanding the city’s annual Winterfest be renamed Christmas to reclaim its Christian heritage. How, you wonder, might that play in a city which has poured resources and energy into convincing the citizenry it stands for diversity?

This is a saga rich in irony. Fundamentalist Glasgow cries “blasphemy”, and Gay Glasgow cries “censorship”. Frankly, my dears, if you continue to make an exhibition of yourselves, CSG may have to employ another curator.