The Christian Right and the Rising Power of the Evangelical Political Movement

Welcome to Democracy Now, we are broadcasting from Louisville, Kentucky on our Unembed the Media Tour. Last month, an event called "Justice Sunday: Stopping the Filibuster Against People of Faith" took place at a Baptist church just east of Louisville. The event was organized by Christian Conservatives and it was simultaneously broadcast to churches around the country, as well as to 61 million households.

Justice Sunday featured some of America's most prominent evangelical leaders who lambasted the Democrats and accused them of blocking conservative Bush nominees for federal judicial posts. At the event they accused Democrats of an anti-religious bigotry comparable to racial bias.

Senate Majority leader Bill Frist delivered a taped speech at the event in a move many say inappropriately brought religion into a political debate. While Frist didn't mention religion in his speech, others who were headlining the event did.

* Al Mohler, president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary speaking on "Justice Sunday."

To talk about the religious right in this country we are joined by two guests.

* Rev. Joseph Phelps, is the Pastor of Highland Baptist Church in Louisville, Kentucky
* Chris Hedges, journalist and author. He was a foreign correspondent for The New York Times and is currently a senior fellow at the Nation Institute. He is author of "War Is a Force That Gives Us Meaning" and "Losing Moses on the Freeway." He has a master's degree in theology from Harvard University.

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