LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Partisan battles over the courts moved Sunday from the halls of Congress to the pews and pulpits of the nation's churches -- with evangelical leaders portraying opponents of conservative judges as enemies of faith and liberals decrying a "religious war" being waged against them.
In highly anticipated remarks aired as part of a 90-minute simulcast to conservative churches -- which sponsors said would reach more than 60 million people -- Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist shied away from the fiery oratory offered by evangelical leaders.
But the Tennessee Republican threatened again to change Senate rules to curb the Democrats' ability to block votes on 10 of President Bush's court nominees. The move is so controversial that some refer to it as the "nuclear option."
And activists on both sides declared Sunday's event, "Justice Sunday: Stop the Filibuster Against People of Faith," a watershed moment in an increasingly emotional conflict that is as much about the mixing of God and government as it is about who can serve on the federal bench.
"Only in the United States Senate could it be considered a devastating option to allow a vote," Frist said in a six-minute speech taped Friday. "Most places call that democracy."
The simulcast was sponsored by the lobbying arms of the socially conservative advocacy groups Family Research Council and Focus on the Family. It originated from the sanctuary of the 6,000-member Highview Baptist Church on Louisville's fast-growing east side, an example of the evangelical mega-churches that have become central to Republican efforts to expand the party's base by courting Christians and other deeply religious voters.
The event marked the most dramatic show of force by evangelical leaders since the 2004 elections, when religious conservatives helped fuel Bush's reelection and expand the GOP majority in Congress.
Last month, the death of Terri Schiavo -- the brain-damaged Florida woman whose feeding tube was removed after a lengthy court battle despite efforts by Bush and the Republican-led Congress -- put the spotlight on the judiciary.
Evangelical leaders, angered by rulings on abortion and gay marriage as well as the Schiavo case, have set their sights on transforming courts they view as stacked against religion. They also are seeking to weaken what they call the "secular left," which they say targets people with religious beliefs from reaching the bench.
