Alliance Defending Freedom: About The Christian Legal Powerhouse

Christianity remains strong in the United States. While by constitution they are a secular nation, Christianity shapes the country in many ways.

Christianity influences society, politics and culture. Indeed, we often see religion-based cases and judgements making their way to American courts, including in some cases, the US Supreme Court.

Whenever a Christian business, charity, cause or individual requires legal assistance at the highest level, there is a high chance that they will be represented by a well-known legal firm which has turned into a Christian powerhouse.

They are called Alliance Defending Freedom, also known as the ADF. The organisation has won countless course cases, and continue to defend the freedom of Christians across the country.

So who exactly are the ADF, what do they stand for, and what have some of its key achievements been? In this article, we take a look in more detail.

Background

Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) was founded in 1993. They aim to expand their philosophy of conservative Christianity.

ADF operates in over 100 countries, with its headquarters being based in Scottsdale, Arizona, United States. As for their international efforts – the organisation is called Alliance Defending Freedom International.

ADF is one of the most well-renowned Christian legal groups. They have taken many cases before the US Supreme Court – the highest court in the United States.

In fact, their influence continues to be felt in politics. For example, Mike Johnson – current speaker of the House of Representatives – was a former ADF attorney.

Among their key aims are limiting and even outlawing abortion, opposing same-sex marriage, increasing religious activities in school and championing freedom of speech.

Key personnel

Kristen Waggoner is the current CEO and General Counsel of ADF. Waggoner credits the values and views of the ADF to her father, who was the superintendent of a Christian school.

Former CEO Michael Farris explained their success by saying “we would say the combination of hard work and God’s blessing appears to be paying off”.

Other well-known people that have been associated with ADF include former US Attorney General William Barr, Amy Coney Barrett – US Supreme Court Justice, former Vice President of the United States Mike Pence, and Jeff Sessions – another former Attorney General.

Well-known cases

Among their best-known cases led to the decision that a Christian baker could legally refuse to create a cake for a gay couple’s wedding. While to most that seems perfectly reasonable, it actually made it all the way to the Supreme Court, before a rational decision was finally reached.

This was the Masterpiece Cakeshop vs. Colorado Civil Rights Commission case that captured the attention of many media outlets in the United States. Many were unaware that ADF played a key role in securing victory.

Another victory came via Burwell vs. Hobby Lobby, which permitted organisations to opt out of covering contraceptives as part of their health coverage – based on religious beliefs.

Frequent cases involve ADF challenging versions of “safe spaces” – which represents a clear breach of the First Amednment.

They are also staunch believers in those that identify themselves as “transgender” as only being able to use bathrooms of their actual sex at birth. In doing so, the ADF have successfully argued that the privacy of the majority of students is protected.

Role in overturning Roe v. Wade

Arguably the biggest goal of the pro-life movement for decades was to overturn the calamitous 1973 Roe vs. Wade, which made abortion a constitutional right.

But in 2022, the historic moment came. ADF played a significant role in Dobbs vs. Jackson Women’s Health Organization before the US Supreme Court.

In the end, the case led to Roe vs. Wade being overturned. ADF played a key role in this, helping to build an argument which proved that there was no right in the constitution to an abortion.

This was an incredible moment for Christians and the wider pro-life movement. We are all made in God’s image, including unborn children.

The Takeaway

Christians everywhere should be delighted and thankful for the work that ADF are doing. They are helping to shape the United States into a better country, and spreading good, Christian values.

While there are some critics of their work, ADF are making the world a better place, one case at a time. Hopefully, their excellent work will continue for many years to come.