The key thing here is not to confuse a conservative with a member of the radical right. A conservative isn't for a God fearing nation in which non-believers are prosecuted by the law. They'd rather have people go to church on Sundays on their own free will. They would appreciate not being treated like a villain because they do go to church, pray before a major event, or place a symbol of their faith in a public area. They don't want to tear down crosses that have been in place for more than fifty years because someone has suddenly found a symbol of their faith insulting.
A conservative is basically against change. They'll admit that things may not be exactly fair, but the correction should be a minor tweak of the system and not the elimination of the system. That's the real definition of a conservative. It isn't that they are pro-war, pro-business, or anti-gay. They just don't want radical change in how things have been up to now.
In a funny way, conservatives do believe that people should have a lot more freedom in how they can act. They feel that if you own a business, then you have the right to say who works for you. That means you don't have to hire someone to satisfy some equal opportunity criteria. Of course, that does deny equal opportunity to some people but it isn't a result of a dictate by law.
I'm not saying that conservatives are entirely right. Some of their opposition to change allows civil injustices to continue. I'm just saying that is the last kind of person who would adopt radical change in the American political system.
