View source for Alliance Defending Freedom

{{Short description|American Christian legal advocacy group}} 
{{Use American English|date=October 2024}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2022}}
{{Infobox organization
| logo = ADF-logo.png
| logo_alt = Logo of Alliance Defending Freedom
| formation = {{start date and age|1993|03|25}}<ref name="corp" />
| type = [[Non-profit organization]]
| tax_id = 54-1660459
| purpose =
| headquarters = [[Scottsdale, Arizona]], U.S.<ref name="990-2013" />
| leader_title = [[Chairman]]
| leader_name = Terry Schlossberg<ref name="irs2020" />
| leader_title2 = [[President (corporation)|President]] and [[Chief Executive Officer|CEO]]
| leader_name2 = [[Kristen Waggoner]]<ref name="waggoner-ceo" />
| volunteers = 1,351<ref name="IRS22" />
| name = Alliance Defending Freedom
| abbreviation = ADF
| logo_size = 100
| mission =
| employees = 395<ref name="IRS22" />
| employees_year = 2022
| volunteers_year = 2022
| revenue = $104,490,113<ref name="IRS22">{{cite form 990 | url=https://adflegal.org/sites/default/files/2023-05/2021%20ADF%20990%20Public%20Copy%20Final.pdf | signatory-last=Eggleston | signatory-first=Rebecca | preparer-last=Batson | preparer-first=Ted R. Jr. | tax-year=2021 | org=Alliance Defending Freedom | ein=541660459 | signature-date=May 11, 2023 | modification-date=May 22, 2023 | via=adflegal.org | access-date=June 18, 2023 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230601123734/https://adflegal.org/sites/default/files/2023-05/2021%20ADF%20990%20Public%20Copy%20Final.pdf | archive-date=June 1, 2023}}</ref><ref name="irs2020" /><ref name="irs2022" />
| revenue_year = 2022
| expenses = $81,311,475<ref name="IRS22" />
| expenses_year = 2022
| endowment = $20,295,829<ref name="IRS22" />
| endowment_year = 2022
| budget = $104,000,000<ref name="Good News Club" />{{rp|84}}<ref name="irs2022" />
| budget_year = 2022
| website = {{Official URL}}
| former name = Alliance Defense Fund
}}
{{Conservatism US}}
The '''Alliance Defending Freedom''' ('''ADF'''), formerly the '''Alliance Defense Fund''', is an American [[Christian right|conservative Christian]] legal advocacy group.<ref name="company-profile" /> It works to expand Christian religious practices within public schools and in government,<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.newsweek.com/alliance-defending-freedom-religious-freedom-free-speech-lgbtq-supreme-court-980736 |title= Who is Alliance Defending Freedom? Christian Legal Powerhouse Behind Supreme Court Abortion Victory |date=26 June 2018 |access-date=6 April 2025| work=Newsweek}}</ref><ref name="Human Events" /> and is most known for its stance on [[United States anti-abortion movement|outlawing abortion]],<ref name="bennett-masterpiece" /><ref name="vile-adf" /> opposing [[same-sex marriage]] and other [[LGBT rights|LGBTQ rights]],<ref name ="splc-profile" /> [[Transgender rights in the United States|transgender rights]], and [[LGBT rights opposition|anti-discrimination laws]].{{ r | splc-profile | transrights | eu-sterilize}} ADF has played a role in at least 74 Supreme Court victories and directly represented 15 parties in Supreme Court wins.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/alliance-defending-freedom-adf-supreme-court-abortion-drug-case-global/ |title=How the group behind the Supreme Court abortion drug case is expanding its fight globally |website=[[CBS News]] |date=14 June 2024 |access-date=27 May 2025}}</ref> ADF is headquartered in [[Scottsdale, Arizona]], with branch offices in several locations including [[Washington, D.C.]], and [[New York, New York|New York]].<ref name="international" /> Its international subsidiary, Alliance Defending Freedom International, with headquarters in [[Vienna]], Austria,<ref name="adf-intl-about" /> operates in over 100 countries.<ref name="adf-goes-global" />

ADF is one of the most organized and influential Christian legal interest groups in the United States<ref name="bennett" /> based on its budget, caseload, network of allied attorneys, and connections to significant members of the [[political right]].{{ r | WaPoBlackstone | holden | eckholm }} [[Mike Johnson]], a former ADF attorney,<ref name="johnson-christian-right" /><ref name="johnson-motherjones" /> [[October 2023 Speaker of the United States House of Representatives election|was elected]] [[Speaker of the United States House of Representatives|Speaker of the House of Representatives]] on October 25, 2023.<ref name=2023-house-speaker/><ref name=2023-johnson-cbs/> Others who have been associated with ADF include [[U.S. Supreme Court]] Justice [[Amy Coney Barrett]],{{ r | WaPoBlackstone | farris-barrett }} former vice president [[Mike Pence]],<ref name="pence-advisory" /> former attorneys general [[William Barr]]<ref name="barr" /> and [[Jeff Sessions]],<ref name="holden" /><ref name="sessions-adf" /> and Senator [[Josh Hawley]].{{ r | hawley-blackstone | erin-hawley-fedsoc}} Since the [[U.S. presidential election, 2016|election]] of President [[Donald Trump]], ADF has become "one of the most influential groups informing the [[First presidency of Donald Trump|[Trump] administration]]".<ref name="Mascaro-20234">{{Cite news |last=Mascaro |first=Lisa |date=August 29, 2023 |title=Conservative Groups Draw Up Plan to Dismantle the US Government and Replace It with Trump's Vision |url=https://apnews.com/article/election-2024-conservatives-trump-heritage-857eb794e505f1c6710eb03fd5b58981 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230922112031/https://apnews.com/article/election-2024-conservatives-trump-heritage-857eb794e505f1c6710eb03fd5b58981 |archive-date=September 22, 2023 |access-date=July 8, 2024 |publisher=[[Associated Press]]}}</ref><ref name="splc-profile" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Belanger |first=Ashley |date=2023-04-27 |title=WebOps platform Pantheon defends hosting "hate groups" as developers quit |url=https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2023/04/webops-platform-pantheon-defends-hosting-hate-groups-as-developers-quit/ |access-date=2024-02-02 |website=[[Ars Technica]] |language=en-us}}</ref><!--Please do not remove "SPLC designated it an anti-LGBTQ hate group" from the lead without first getting consensus to do so on the Talk page. Please see the Archives for previous discussions.--> It has been designated by the [[Southern Poverty Law Center]] as an [[List of organizations designated by the Southern Poverty Law Center as anti-LGBT hate groups|anti-LGBT hate group]].

As of 2018 ADF attorneys have won a number of cases before the Supreme Court. It has taken positions including support for religious activity in public school and Christian prayer at [[town meetings]], narrowing [[Health insurance|insurance coverage]] for [[contraception|contraceptives]], prohibiting [[same-sex marriage]], and supporting businesses in the [[wedding industry]] that refuse to service gay marriages.<ref name="wapo-powerhouse" /> ADF lawyers wrote the model for Mississippi's anti-abortion legislation, leading to the Supreme Court decision in ''[[Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization]]'' to overrule ''[[Roe v. Wade]]'' that had established a [[right to abortion]] in America in 1973.<ref name="adf-who" />

==History and structure==
===Founding===
{{multiple image
| direction         = vertical
| width             = 125
| footer            = Co-founders of Alliance Defense Fund, the predecessor to Alliance Defending Freedom
| image1            = Bill and Vonette Bright.jpg
| caption1          = [[Bill Bright|Bill]] and [[Vonette Bright]]
| image2            = James Dobson 1.jpg
| caption2          = [[James Dobson]]
| image3            = 
| caption3          = [[D. James Kennedy]]
}}

The Alliance Defense Fund was founded by members of the [[Christian right]] movement to prevent what its founders saw as threats to religious liberty in American society.{{ r | bennett | eckholm }} ADF was incorporated in 1993<ref name= corp/> by six conservative Christian men, most of whom belonged to [[evangelical Christian|evangelical]] movements.<ref name="nbc" /> The co-founders were [[Bill Bright]], who also founded [[Campus Crusade for Christ]]; [[Larry Burkett]]; [[James Dobson]], founder of [[Focus on the Family]]; [[D. James Kennedy]], founder of [[Coral Ridge Ministries]]; [[Marlin Maddoux]]; [[Mark D. Siljander|Mark Siljander]]; and [[Alan Sears]].<ref name="church-honor" /> ADF is a tax-exempt [[501(c)(3)]] organization.<ref name="irseo" /> 

In its early years, Alliance Defense Fund funded legal cases rather than litigating directly. It particularly targeted the work of the [[American Civil Liberties Union]], which its founders saw as contributing to an erosion of [[Christian values]].{{ r | eckholm | vile-adf | McFeely | aclu-agenda}}

===Shift to direct litigation===
The Alliance Defense Fund changed its name to Alliance Defending Freedom in 2012. The name change was intended to reflect the organization's shift in focus from funding allied attorneys to directly litigating cases.<ref name="press-name" />

By 2014, the organization had more than 40 staff attorneys, and had "emerged as the largest legal force of the [[Religious right in the United States|religious right]], arguing hundreds of pro bono cases across the country."<ref name="eckholm" /><!--copied from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Alan_Sears&oldid=809845026 --><ref>{{Cite web |last=O'Malley |first=Nick |date=2016-01-25 |title=Inside the Alliance Defending Freedom, the 'gay-hate' group hosting Tony Abbott |url=https://www.smh.com.au/world/inside-the-alliance-defending-freedom-the-gayhate-group-hosting-tony-abbott-20160126-gmdu9o.html |access-date=2024-01-19 |website=The Sydney Morning Herald |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Montini |first=E. J. |title=Montini: Business wants to use religion to discriminate against same-sex couples |url=https://www.azcentral.com/story/opinion/op-ed/ej-montini/2016/06/08/montini-alliance-defending-freedom-discrimination-same-sex-couples-phoenix/85616540/ |access-date=2024-01-19 |website=The Arizona Republic |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine |last1=Stewart |first1=Katherine |last2=Shephard |first2=Alex |last3=Shephard |first3=Alex |last4=McCrary |first4=Charles |last5=Ribovich |first5=Leslie |last6=McCrary |first6=Charles |last7=Ribovich |first7=Leslie |last8=Ford |first8=Matt |last9=Ford |first9=Matt |date=2022-07-11 |title=How Leonard Leo Became the Power Broker of the American Right |url=https://newrepublic.com/article/166993/leonard-leo-christian-right-future |access-date=2024-01-19 |magazine=The New Republic |issn=0028-6583}}</ref> ADF garnered national attention in the 2012 ''[[Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc.]]'' case<ref name="sherry" /><ref name="burwell2022" /> as well as its 2014 challenge to the [[Affordable Care Act]].<ref name="eckholm" /><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cnn.com/2014/06/29/us/supreme-court-conestoga-obamacare-contraception/index.html|title=A Mennonite family's fight over Obamacare reaches Supreme Court|publisher=CNN|date=June 30, 2014|author=Bill Mears|access-date=December 29, 2024}}</ref>

===Leadership and international expansion===
The ADF's first president, CEO and Chief Counsel was Alan Sears, who was also a founder of the organization.<ref name="adflegal.org" /> Sears has been described as "an ardent [[anti-pornography movement|antipornography]] crusader",<ref name="stengel" /> and had previously served as staff executive director of the [[Reagan administration]] Attorney General's Commission on Pornography, which produced the 1986 [[Meese Report]].<ref name="meese" />

Sears led the organization for over 20 years, until 2017. From 2017 to 2022, [[Michael Farris (lawyer)|Michael Farris]], the founder of [[Patrick Henry College]], was [[CEO]] of ADF. Farris lobbied Congress for the passage of the [[Religious Freedom Restoration Act]] of 1993.<ref name="adflegal.org" /> He has been closely associated with the Christian [[homeschooling]] movement since the 1980s and is the founder of the Christian organization [[Home School Legal Defense Association]], which offers legal representation to home-schooling parents.<ref name="vile-adf" /> In 2016, Farris voiced opposition to [[Donald Trump]]'s [[Donald Trump presidential campaign, 2016|candidacy for president]], opining that "Trump most clearly fails the traditional standard championed by the Christian right on the subject of personal character."<ref name="tulsa-farris" /> However, after Trump refused to concede the [[2020 United States presidential election|2020 presidential election]] and made false claims of voter fraud, Farris worked to [[Attempts to overturn the 2020 United States presidential election|overturn the election results]], drafting a legal complaint with Texas Attorney General [[Ken Paxton]] in the unsuccessful case ''[[Texas v. Pennsylvania]]''.<ref name="draft-complaint" /><ref name="farris-election" />

On October 1, 2022, Kristen Waggoner succeeded Farris as CEO and President of ADF, retaining her role as General Counsel.<ref name="2022CEO" />

===ADF International===
Since 2010, ADF's global arm, ADF International, has been increasingly active around the world. In 2015,
ADF International stated that it had been involved in "over 500 cases before national and international tribunals," in the United States of America, Argentina, Honduras, India, Mexico, Peru, the European Union Court and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights.<ref name="eu-filing" /> The organization reported 580 "ongoing legal matters" in fifty-one countries as of 2017,<ref name="christian army" /> and had a budget of $11.5 million worldwide in 2020–2021.<ref name="Pegg" /><ref name="EU-budget2021" /> The organization established an affiliate group in India (ADF India) in 2012, headquartered in Delhi.<ref name="adfindia">{{cite web | title=ADF India | url=https://adfindia.org/ | access-date=2023-03-05 | archive-date=March 6, 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230306042433/https://adfindia.org/ | url-status=live }}</ref> In addition, ADF is incorporated in a number of European countries under "ADF International": Belgium, Germany (as ADF International Deutschland), France, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and Austria (as ADF International Austria GmbH).<ref name="audit2022" /> The organization also lobbies the [[European Union Parliament]] via ADF International Belgium, which participates in the intergroup organization "Freedom of Religion and Religious Tolerance." As part of EU advocacy, its members have presented on issues including Christian minority persecution in Iraq and Myanmar.<ref name="EU-budget2021" />

ADF International's budget was US$11.5 million (€9,489,000) in FY 2020–21.<ref name="EU-budget2021" /> In the [[European Union|EU]], the organization spent about $9.8 million (€8.7 million) from 2008 to 2016.<ref name="Pegg" /> In 2020, it reported a budget of about $2 million per year (£1.5 million), including approximately $430,000 on lobbying EU officials.<ref name="Pegg" /> Its registered EU lobbying group, ADF International Belgium, had five employees and a $585,000 budget for the 2022-23 financial year.<ref name="EU-budget2022" /> In its financial disclosure information, ADF International Belgium lists its source as a donation from Alliance Defending Freedom.<ref name="EU-budget2022" />

===Finances and donors===
The [[Servant Foundation]] donated over $50,000,000 to the Alliance Defending Freedom between 2018 and 2020, via the foundation's financial arm, The Signatry.<ref name="servant-funding" /><ref name="media-blitz" /><ref name="CT-marketing" /> The most public use of these funds has been the "[[He Gets Us]]" campaign during [[Super Bowl]] commercial breaks.<ref name="CNN">{{cite news |last1=Willingham |first1=AJ |title=The truth behind the 'He Gets Us' ads for Jesus airing during the Super Bowl |url=https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/11/us/he-gets-us-super-bowl-commercials-cec/index.html |access-date=12 February 2024 |publisher=CNN |date=13 February 2023}}</ref><ref name="MSN">{{cite news |last1=Wright |first1=Matthew |title=Billionaire family aims to convert Super Bowl fans with 'haters' campaign |url=https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/nfl/billionaire-family-aims-to-convert-super-bowl-fans-with-haters-campaign/ar-BB1i8j68 |access-date=12 February 2024 |publisher=MSN |date=12 February 2024}}</ref><ref name="SPL">{{cite web |title=Alliance Defending Freedom |url=https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/group/alliance-defending-freedom |publisher=Southern Poverty Law Center |access-date=12 February 2024}}</ref><ref name="BI">{{cite news |last1=Biron |first1=Bethany |title=16 of the biggest controversies in Hobby Lobby's 50-year history — from denying contraceptives for employees to illegally smuggling ancient tablets |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/the-15-biggest-controversies-in-hobby-lobby-history-2020-9 |access-date=12 February 2024 |work=Business Insider |date=21 October 2022}}</ref> Other donors include: the [[David Green (entrepreneur)|Green family]],<ref name="CNN" /><ref name="MSN" /><ref name="SPL" /><ref name="BI" /> the Covenant Foundation, the [[Bolthouse Foundation]],<ref name="BolthouseFoundation" /> the [[Edgar and Elsa Prince Foundation]],<ref name="WASHSPEC" /><ref name="Good News Club" />{{rp|84, 255}} the [[Richard and Helen DeVos Foundation]], the [[Bradley Foundation]],<ref name="bolthouse-stmt" /><ref name="abortion-dorries" /> and the [[Charles Koch]] Institute.<ref name="koch-cmd" /> The [[M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust]], one of largest charities in the [[Pacific Northwest]], donated nearly $1,000,000 to ADF from 2007 to 2016.<ref name="vancouver-anti-trans" />

==Supreme Court==

ADF attorneys have argued, and won, a number of cases before the Supreme Court.
===Free Speech===
The 2023 case [[303 Creative LLC v. Elenis|''303 Creative LLC v. Elenis'']] addressed an intersection between the [[Free Speech Clause]] of the [[First Amendment to the United States Constitution]] and [[LGBTQ rights in the United States|LGBTQ rights]]. It pitched Lorie Smith, a graphic designer represented by ADF's [[Kristen Waggoner]],<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.oyez.org/cases/2022/21-476 |title=303 CREATIVE LLC, ET AL., Petitioners, v. AUBREY ELENIS, ET AL., Respondents |date=5 December 2022 |access-date=14 April 2025}}</ref> against a Colorado public accommodations law that she feared would have compelled her to also create expression about same-sex marriages that contradicted her religious beliefs if she designed websites celebrating marriages between men and women. In a 6–3 decision, the Supreme Court ruled that the First Amendment forbade the state of Colorado from compelling speech that contradicted her beliefs.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/22pdf/21-476_c185.pdf|title=303 CREATIVE LLC ET AL. v. ELENIS ET AL.|publisher=Supreme Court|date=June 30, 2023|access-date=5 April 2025}}</ref><ref name="Cloudfront">{{cite web |url= https://dm1l19z832j5m.cloudfront.net/2023-12/Securing-Freedoms-Future_0.pdf |title=Securing Freedom's Future at the U.S. Supreme Court |access-date=5 April 2025}}</ref>       

The 2018 case [[National Institute of Family and Life Advocates v. Becerra|''National Institute of Family and Life Advocates v. Becerra'']] addressed the issue of Free Speech and abortion. At issue was California's Reproductive FACT (Freedom, Accountability, Comprehensive Care, and Transparency) Act that compelled pro-life pregnancy care centers, represented by ADF's [[Michael Farris (lawyer)|Michael Farris]],<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.oyez.org/cases/2017/16-1140 |title=NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF FAMILY AND LIFE ADVOCATES, DBA NIFLA, ET AL., Petitioners, v. XAVIER BECERRA, ATTORNEY GENERAL OF CALIFORNIA, ET AL., Respondents |date=20 March 2018 |access-date=14 April 2025}}</ref> to post information in their waiting rooms saying that California provides free or low-cost abortion, as well as providing a number to call for abortion referrals.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.foxnews.com/politics/supreme-court-rules-in-favor-of-pro-life-crisis-pregnancy-centers-a-breakdown-of-nifla-v-becerra |title=Supreme Court to hear anti-abortion and free speech case: A breakdown of NIFLA v. Becerra|publisher=Fox News|date=16 November 2017 |access-date=5 April 2025}}</ref> The Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that requiring those notices was a free speech violation.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.scotusblog.com/2018/06/opinion-analysis-divided-court-rules-for-anti-abortion-pregnancy-centers-in-challenge-to-california-law/ |title=Opinion analysis: Divided court rules for anti-abortion pregnancy centers in challenge to California law|work=SCOTUSBlog|date=26 June 2018|access-date=5 April 2025}}</ref>

The 2001 case [[Good News Club v. Milford Central School|''Good News Club v. Milford Central School'']] concerned a public school's exclusion of a club from using the school building after hours based solely on the club's religious nature. The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that the Good News Club, represented by ADF's senior counsel [[Thomas Marcelle]], was the victim of impermissible [[viewpoint discrimination]]<ref name="GoodNewsClub">{{ussc|name=Good News Club v. Milford Central School|link=|volume=533|page=98|pin=107|year=2001}}.</ref>and that religious clubs must be afforded equal access to use public school facilities.<ref>{{cite web |author=Joel Stashenko |url=http://www.law.com/jsp/nylj/PubArticleNY.jsp?id=1202427943170&slreturn=1&hbxlogin=1 |title=Conservative Christian Group Targets New York |website=[[Law.com]] |date=February 3, 2009 |access-date=18 April 2025 |archive-date=March 21, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230321190738/https://www.law.com/newyorklawjournal/almID/1202427943170/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Abortion===
The 2022 case ''[[Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization]]'', considered the constitutionality of a Mississippi law that placed a ban on abortions after 15 weeks, in conflict with ''[[Roe v. Wade]]'' (1973) and ''[[Planned Parenthood v. Casey]]'' (1992). The Mississippi law was based on ADF's model legislation, specifically designed to provoke a legal challenge that could then be appealed up to the Supreme Court.<ref name="nation-dobbs" /><ref name="Cloudfront" /> ADF lawyers then served on the Mississippi Attorney General's legal team to defend the ban.<ref name="adf-who" /> The strategy succeeded: the Justices voted to overturn Roe v Wade, and Casey, and to return the power to regulate abortion to the States.

==Litigation positions==
[[List of court cases involving Alliance Defending Freedom|ADF's positions]] include supporting the place of religion in public institutions, opposing LGBTQ rights, opposing abortion and contraception, and other positions aligned with conservative Christianity in the United States.{{Pie chart
| caption=Issue advocacy as a function of press releases (2017)<ref name="bennett-masterpiece">{{Cite news |last=Bennett |first=Daniel |url=http://religionandpolitics.org/2017/09/19/masterpiece-cakeshop-alliance-defending-freedom-christian-supreme-court/ |title=Masterpiece Cakeshop: Meet the Christian Legal Group Behind the High-Profile Court Case |date=September 19, 2017 |work=Religion & Politics |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |location=Cambridge, England | access-date=February 14, 2018 |archive-date=November 22, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171122052755/http://religionandpolitics.org/2017/09/19/masterpiece-cakeshop-alliance-defending-freedom-christian-supreme-court/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
 | label1 = Religious liberty
 | value1 = 45 | color1 = purple
 | label2 = Opposition to [[abortion]]
 | value2 = 22 | color2 = lightskyblue
 | label3 = Opposition to [[same-sex marriage]]
 | value3 = 21 | color3 = white
 | label4 = Not specified
 | value4 = 12 | color4 = gray
 }}

===Religion in public institutions===
According to materials for its donors, ADF seeks to spread a belief in "the framers' original intent for the [[US Constitution]] and the [[U.S. Bill of Rights|Bill of Rights]] as it reflects God's natural law and God's higher law."<ref name=990-2008/> Before taking the oath of office as Speaker of the House of Representatives, {{as of |alt=current |2023|10}}, former ADF lawyer [[Mike Johnson]] stated, "The Bible is very clear that God is the one that raises up those in authority ... each of you, all of us."<ref name="johnson-christian-right" /> The organization pursues "strategies for reclaiming the judicial system as it was originally envisioned," most notably through litigation.<ref name=990-2008/>

The ADF has been involved in several [[United States Supreme Court]] cases that would permit equal access to public buildings and public funds for religious organisations, such as ''[[Rosenberger v. University of Virginia]]'' (1995) and ''[[Good News Club v. Milford Central School]]'' (2001). ADF also supported allowing [[prayer]] at the start of monthly public town meetings (see ''[[Town of Greece v. Galloway]]'') and the use of religious displays (such as [[Christian cross|crosses]] and other religious monuments) in public buildings and on [[public land]]s.<ref name="Human Events">{{Cite journal |last=Gizzi |first=John |year=2009 |title=Alliance Defense Fund Promotes Religious Freedom |journal=[[Human Events]] |volume=65 |issue=28 |page=21}}</ref>

==== Parental rights regarding sex education in schools ====
ADF has argued that parents who object to [[sex education]] on religious grounds should have the right to opt not to have their children attend.<ref name="Human Events" />

====Christian-only adoption====
In 2022, ADF took on a case defending a Tennessee-based Christian [[adoption agency]] that refused to work with Jewish prospective parents.<ref name="TN-adopt" /><ref name="TN-nyt" /><ref name="tn-apnews" /><ref name="guardian-TN" /> The case, which names the [[State of Tennessee]] as a defendant for its law permitting religious organizations to reject applicants based on faith, was dismissed on technical grounds.<ref name="mattise-dismiss" /> The case was appealed to the Tennessee Court of Appeals,<ref name="mattise-dismiss" /><ref name="AU" /> which reversed the trial-court panel's decision on August 24, 2023, agreeing that the prospective parents and all the other plaintiffs have the right to bring the lawsuit. The Tennessee Department of Children's Services then filed an application seeking review of the case by the Tennessee Supreme Court, which the court denied on May 16, 2024.<ref>{{cite web |last=Brown |first=Melissa |date=May 17, 2024 |title=Lawsuit alleging religious discrimination in Tennessee adoption law can proceed |url=https://www.knoxnews.com/story/news/2024/05/17/lawsuit-tennessee-jewish-couple-adoption-law/73734097007/ |website=[[Knox News]] <!-- agency? |work=[[USA Today]] --> |access-date={{date|March 13, 2025}}}}</ref>

Commenting on an earlier case in South Carolina, an ADF spokesperson expressed support for an [[Evangelicalism|evangelical]] foster care provider in South Carolina that rejects Jewish prospective parents, as well as LGBTQ people, atheists, and other non-Christians.<ref name="miracle-hill-adl" /><ref name="barred" /> The agency, Miracle Hill Ministries, is the largest foster and adoption agency in South Carolina and receives public funding; its president has stated that its religious discrimination policy is justified, because "We look like a social service agency, but we're a community of Christ followers and our faith in Christ is the most important part of who we are."<ref name="davis-gvonline" /><ref name="exemption" /> A [[Catholicism|Catholic]] woman sued the agency after being rejected on the basis of religion, but the agency later changed its rules to permit "Catholics who affirm Miracle Hill's doctrinal statement in belief and practice to serve as foster parents and employees."<ref name="catholic-accepted" />

At the request of South Carolina governor [[Henry McMaster]], the [[First presidency of Donald Trump|Trump administration]] granted the organization a waiver of federal non-discrimination law. An ADF spokesperson indicated that the organization is "grateful [to] HHS and South Carolina" for granting the waiver, which allows the agency to continue to restrict fostering and adoption work to those who endorse evangelical beliefs.<ref name="miracle-hill-adl" /><ref name="barred" /><ref name="miracle-hill-foster" />

=== Opposing LGBTQ rights===
In 2003, ADF unsuccessfully called for the [[criminalization of homosexuality|recriminalization of homosexual acts]] in the U.S. ([[Sodomy laws in the United States#Up to Lawrence v. Texas|prior to 1962, sodomy had been a felony in every U.S. state]]), filing a Supreme Court brief supporting Texas' [[sodomy law]] in the landmark ''[[Lawrence v. Texas]]'' case which declared sodomy laws unconstitutional; it linked [[homosexuality]] to [[pedophilia]].<ref name="splc-profile" /><!--Please do not remove "SPLC designated it an anti-LGBTQ hate group" from the lead without first getting consensus to do so on the Talk page. Please see the Archives for previous discussions.--> ADF also opposes [[same-sex marriage]] and [[civil union]]s, as well as [[LGBT adoption|adoption by same-sex couples]], based on its leaders' "belief that God created men, women, and families such that children thrive best in homes with a married mother and father."<ref name="churches-face">{{cite web | url=https://www.adfchurchalliance.org/standforfreedom | title=Churches Face Mounting Religious Liberty Threats | publisher=Alliance Defending Freedom Church Alliance | access-date=March 19, 2022 | archive-date=April 3, 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220403140714/https://www.adfchurchalliance.org/standforfreedom | url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://adflegal.org/press-release/christian-adoption-agencies-us-supreme-court-let-us-help-children-find-loving-homes | title=Christian adoption agencies to US Supreme Court: Let us help children find loving homes | publisher=Alliance Defending Freedom | date=June 3, 2020 | access-date=March 19, 2022 | archive-date=January 31, 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220131055225/https://adflegal.org/press-release/christian-adoption-agencies-us-supreme-court-let-us-help-children-find-loving-homes | url-status=live }}</ref> ADF provided legal support to the defendants in two Supreme Court cases dealing with the intersection of freedom of religion against Colorado's anti-discrimination laws for public-serving businesses, ''[[Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission]]'' (2018) and ''[[303 Creative LLC v. Elenis]]'' (2022); in both cases, the underlying issue was whether Christian business owners, under the anti-discrimination law, were compelled to create works with LGBT messaging that they said went against their Christian faith. In 2021, the Supreme Court declined to consider an appeal from ADF attorneys on behalf of a [[Arlene's Flowers lawsuit|florist who refused to serve her clients' same-sex wedding]], with three of the nine justices indicating they were willing to hear the case.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Hurley |first=Lawrence |date=July 2, 2021 |title=U.S. Supreme Court rebuffs appeal by florist who spurned gay couple |language=en |publisher=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-supreme-court-rebuffs-appeal-by-florist-who-spurned-gay-couple-2021-07-02/ |access-date=January 28, 2022 |archive-date=January 28, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220128053623/https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-supreme-court-rebuffs-appeal-by-florist-who-spurned-gay-couple-2021-07-02/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

The organization has worked internationally to prevent decriminalization of homosexuality in Jamaica and Belize.<ref name="Compton">{{Cite news |last=Compton |first=Julie |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/activists-takes-aim-anti-lgbtq-hate-group-alliance-defending-freedom-n936391 |title=Activists take aim at anti-LGBTQ 'hate group,' Alliance Defending Freedom |date=November 14, 2018 |publisher=NBC News |access-date=July 26, 2019 |language=en |archive-date=July 27, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190727200118/https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/activists-takes-aim-anti-lgbtq-hate-group-alliance-defending-freedom-n936391 |url-status=live }}</ref> The SPLC has reported on ADF support for a [[Sodomy Law|law criminalizing same-sex sexual acts]] in [[LGBT rights in Belize|Belize]] (ruled unconstitutional in 2016).<ref name="belize-splc">Staff (July 2013) [https://www.splcenter.org/sites/default/files/d6_legacy_files/downloads/publication/splc-report-dangerous-liaisons.pdf "Dangerous Liaisons: The American Religious Right & the Criminalization of Homosexuality in Belize"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211027100012/https://www.splcenter.org/sites/default/files/d6_legacy_files/downloads/publication/splc-report-dangerous-liaisons.pdf |date=October 27, 2021 }} [[Southern Poverty Law Center]]</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/belize-supreme-court-overturns-anti-gay-law-n627511 | title=Belize Supreme Court Overturns Anti-Gay Law | date=August 10, 2016 | access-date=March 20, 2022 | archive-date=November 22, 2018 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181122190007/https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/belize-supreme-court-overturns-anti-gay-law-n627511 | url-status=live }}</ref> The ADF denied playing any role in the case.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.7newsbelize.com/sstory.php?nid=26152 | title=Caleb On "Dangerous Liaisons" Report | date=July 26, 2013 | publisher=7 News Belize | access-date=March 19, 2022 | archive-date=May 13, 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220513021054/http://www.7newsbelize.com/sstory.php?nid=26152 | url-status=live }}</ref> In the United Kingdom, ADF International advocated in favor of a mother's custody of her child, against the custody of the child's father and his same-sex partner.<ref name="christian army" /> ADF also has links to the former prime minister of Australia, [[Tony Abbott]], an outspoken opponent of the legalization of same-sex marriage in Australia. Abbott gave a speech to ADF regarding marriage in 2016.<ref name="abc.net.au">{{Cite web |url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-01-26/tony-abbott-speak-at-us-conservative-christian-lobby/7114506 |title=Tony Abbott to address US conservative Christian lobby group on marriage views |last1=Doran |first1=Matthew |last2=Roscoe Whalan |date=January 25, 2016 |publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation |access-date=February 14, 2018 |archive-date=August 16, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160816174926/http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-01-26/tony-abbott-speak-at-us-conservative-christian-lobby/7114506 |url-status=live }}</ref>

ADF opposes [[transgender rights movement|transgender rights]] based on the idea that "God creates each person with an immutable biological sex—male or female..."<ref name="statement of faith">{{cite web |date=January 15, 2020 |title=Statement of Faith |url=https://adflegal.org/about-us/careers/statement-of-faith |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220320003248/https://adflegal.org/about-us/careers/statement-of-faith |archive-date=March 20, 2022 |access-date=March 19, 2022 |publisher=Alliance Defending Freedom}}</ref> The organization has litigated against transgender employment protections, access to bathrooms, and participation in sports for transgender people. Members of ADF also authored model legislation for [[bathroom bills]] in the United States, aimed at restricting transgender people's use of single-sex public bathrooms.<ref name="transrights" /> In 2020, the ADF lost a Supreme Court case in which ADF attorneys defended a funeral home that fired a trans employee in the Supreme Court case, ''[[R.G. & G.R. Harris Funeral Homes Inc. v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission]]'', losing in a 6–3 vote.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Hurley |first1=Lawrence |title=In landmark ruling, Supreme Court bars discrimination against LGBT workers |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-court-lgbt-idUSKBN23M20N |access-date=January 28, 2022 |publisher=Reuters |date=June 15, 2020 |archive-date=June 15, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200615215001/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-court-lgbt/in-landmark-ruling-supreme-court-bars-discrimination-against-lgbt-workers-idUSKBN23M20N |url-status=live }}</ref>

The organization has worked to prevent transgender athletes from [[Transgender people in sports|playing sports]] with the gender they identify with, through lawsuits and by lobbying state legislatures.<ref name="girls-sports">{{cite news | url=https://www.outsports.com/2020/2/12/21135174/adf-connecticut-federal-lawsuit-transgender-girls-sports-high-school | title=ADF sues Connecticut for letting trans girls compete in high school sports | last=Ennis | first=Dawn | date=February 12, 2020 | work=Outsports | access-date=March 19, 2022 | archive-date=April 11, 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220411085348/https://www.outsports.com/2020/2/12/21135174/adf-connecticut-federal-lawsuit-transgender-girls-sports-high-school | url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.thestar.com/news/world/us/2022/02/10/clarification-us-indiana-legislature-schools-story.html | title=Indiana transgender athlete ban draws increasing pushback | date=February 10, 2022 | access-date=March 19, 2022 | archive-date=March 20, 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220320003248/https://www.thestar.com/news/world/us/2022/02/10/clarification-us-indiana-legislature-schools-story.html | url-status=live }}</ref> In April 2022, ADF-affiliated lawyers defended a professor at [[Shawnee State University]], Ohio, who refused to use [[misgendering|preferred pronouns]] when referring to a [[transgender rights|transgender]] student; the university agreed to a $400,000 settlement with the professor.<ref name="anti-trans-prof">{{cite web | url=https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-news/professor-wouldnt-use-trans-students-pronouns-wins-400k-settlement-rcna24989 | title=Professor who wouldn't use trans student's pronouns wins $400K settlement | date=April 19, 2022 | last=Lavietes | first=Matt | publisher=NBC News | access-date=April 29, 2022 | archive-date=April 29, 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220429165519/https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-news/professor-wouldnt-use-trans-students-pronouns-wins-400k-settlement-rcna24989 | url-status=live }}</ref>

In Europe, ADF International has supported mandatory genital surgery (and consequent [[Sterilization (medicine)#Promoted sterilization|sterilization]]) of transgender people before they are allowed to change the gender marker on government [[identification documents|IDs]].<ref name="eu-sterilize">{{Cite web |url=https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2017/07/27/anti-lgbt-hate-group-alliance-defending-freedom-defended-state-enforced-sterilization |title=Anti-LGBT Hate Group Alliance Defending Freedom Defended State-Enforced Sterilization for Transgender Europeans |last=Amend |first=Alex |date=July 27, 2017 |publisher=Southern Poverty Law Center |access-date=November 26, 2017 |archive-date=December 16, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171216025038/https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2017/07/27/anti-lgbt-hate-group-alliance-defending-freedom-defended-state-enforced-sterilization |url-status=live }}</ref> However, a decision by the European Court of Human Rights, ''A.P., Garçon and Nicot v. France'', has led France, Greece, Portugal, and several other countries to allow non-medical pathways to gender marker change.<ref name="tlmr">{{cite report | author1=Zhan Chiam |author2=Sandra Duffy |author3=Matilda González Gil |author4=Lara Goodwin |author5=Nigel Timothy Mpemba Patel | title=Trans Legal Mapping Report 2019: Recognition before the law | institution=ILGA World | date=2020 | url=https://ilga.org/downloads/ILGA_World_Trans_Legal_Mapping_Report_2019_EN.pdf | access-date=December 4, 2022 | archive-date=January 27, 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230127231222/https://ilga.org/downloads/ILGA_World_Trans_Legal_Mapping_Report_2019_EN.pdf | url-status=live }}</ref>

In June 2022, several groups opposing trans rights, including Alliance Defending Freedom, [[Women's Declaration International|WDI USA]], [[Family Research Council]] and [[Women's Liberation Front]], organized a rally in Washington D.C. supporting single-sex athletic competition.<ref>{{cite web |title=Our Bodies, Our Sports |url=https://ourbodiesoursports.com/ |access-date=6 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220621104605/https://ourbodiesoursports.com/ |archive-date=21 June 2022}}</ref>

In June 2023, the [[Supreme Court of the United States]] ruled in favor of the plaintiff, represented by ADF, for the ''[[303 Creative LLC v. Elenis]]'' case.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/web-designer-wants-legal-fees-supreme-court-win-free-speech-lgbt-rights-case-2024-07-25/ |title= Web designer wants legal fees for Supreme Court win in free speech, LGBT rights case |publisher=[[Reuters]] |date=26 July 2024|access-date=5 April 2025}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-06-30 |title=What the Supreme Court's gay wedding website ruling means for LGBTQ rights |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-news/supreme-courts-gay-wedding-website-ruling-means-lgbtq-rights-rcna92022 |access-date=2023-07-06 |publisher=NBC News |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Kruzel |first=John |date=2023-07-03 |title=LGBT rights yield to religious interests at US Supreme Court |language=en |publisher=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/legal/lgbt-rights-yield-religious-interests-us-supreme-court-2023-07-01/ |access-date=2023-07-06}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-06-30 |title=The Supreme Court rules for a designer who doesn't want to make wedding websites for gay couples |url=https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-gay-rights-website-designer-aa529361bc939c837ec2ece216b296d5 |access-date=2023-07-06 |publisher=Associated Press |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-07-03 |title=Legitimacy of 'customer' in Supreme Court gay rights case raises ethical and legal flags |url=https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-gay-rights-lgbtq-website-9c058addfdd581ce0ead81eb59660130 |access-date=2023-07-06 |publisher=Associated Press |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Sosin |first=Kate |date=2020-10-15 |title=Amy Coney Barrett Has Ties To an Anti-LGBTQ Hate Group |url=https://msmagazine.com/2020/10/15/amy-coney-barrett-alliance-defending-freedom-adf-lgbtq-hate-group/ |access-date=2023-07-06 |website=Ms. Magazine |language=en-US}}</ref> The ruling sparked widespread criticism regarding whether the plaintiff lacked standing.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Cole |first=David |date=January 29, 2024 |title="We Do No Such Thing": 303 Creative v. Elenis and the Future of First Amendment Challenges to Public Accommodations Laws |url=https://www.yalelawjournal.org/forum/we-do-no-such-thing-303-creative-v-elenis-and-the-future-of-first-amendment-challenges-to-public-accommodations-laws |journal=The Yale Law Journal |volume=133 |via=Yale Law School}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=M. Re |first=Richard |date=November 29, 2023 |title=Does the Discourse on 303 Creative Portend a Standing Realignment? |url=https://www.law.virginia.edu/node/2171631 |journal=Notre Dame Law Review Reflection |volume=99 |issue=67 |via=Notre Dame Law School}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Morrison |first=Alan B. |date=September 15, 2023 |title=Standing When You Want It |url=https://www.acslaw.org/expertforum/standing-when-you-want-it/ |access-date=May 22, 2024 |publisher=American Constitution Society}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Baude |first1=William |last2=Bray |first2=Samuel |date=November 13, 2023 |title=Proper Parties, Proper Relief |url=https://harvardlawreview.org/print/vol-137/proper-parties-proper-relief/ |journal=Harvard Law Review |volume=137 |issue=1 |via=Harvard Law School}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://townhall.com/tipsheet/leahbarkoukis/2023/07/07/adf-sets-the-record-straight-on-303-creative-case-n2625413|title=ADF Sets the Record Straight After the Left Attempts to Discredit 303 Creative Case|website=Townhall|date=July 7, 2023|author=Leah Barkoukis|access-date=September 1, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last1=Swaine |first1=Jon |last2=Reinhard |first2=Beth |date=2023-09-27 |title=Inside the tactics that won Christian vendors the right to reject gay weddings |language=en-US |newspaper=The Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/2023/09/24/alliance-defending-freedom-wedding-lawsuit/ |access-date=2023-09-28 |issn=0190-8286}}</ref> These criticisms prompted several articles myth-busting the attackers on the plaintiff's standing.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nationalreview.com/bench-memos/foolish-arguments-against-standing-in-303-creative-part-1/|title=Foolish Arguments Against Standing in 303 Creative—Part 1|website=[[National Review]] |date=July 3, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nationalreview.com/bench-memos/foolish-arguments-against-standing-in-303-creative-part-2/|title=Foolish Arguments Against Standing in 303 Creative—Part 2|website=[[National Review]] |date=July 3, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nationalreview.com/bench-memos/foolish-arguments-against-standing-in-303-creative-part-3/|title=Foolish Arguments Against Standing in 303 Creative—Part 3|website=[[National Review]] |date=July 5, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nationalreview.com/bench-memos/more-on-standing-in-303-creative/|title=More on Standing in 303 Creative|website=[[National Review]] |date=July 10, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nationalreview.com/news/correcting-the-record-on-the-fake-same-sex-couple-in-the-303-creative-case/|title=Correcting the Record on the 'Fake' Same-Sex Couple in the 303 Creative Case|website=[[National Review]] |date=June 30, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.thefire.org/news/myth-busting-reactions-supreme-courts-decision-303-creative-v-elenis|title=Myth-busting reactions to the Supreme Court's decision in 303 Creative v. Elenis &#124; The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression|first=Darpana|last=Sheth|date=July 7, 2023|website=thefire.org}}</ref>

=== Opposing abortion, birth control, and euthanasia ===
ADF has long opposed [[abortion]], and has litigated to restrict access to abortion and contraception in the US and in other countries. The ADF was a key participant in the 2022 case, ''[[Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization]]'', that ended the Right to an abortion in the first 24 weeks and returning the power to the States to regulate abortion. 

The ADF represents the Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine in ''[[Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine v. US Food and Drug Administration]]'',<ref>{{Cite web |title=Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine et al v. U.S. Food and Drug Administration et al |url=https://www.law360.com/cases/6377d1beb6593203c70c9b44 |access-date=2023-03-03 |website=law360.com |language=en |archive-date=March 3, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230303005754/https://www.law360.com/cases/6377d1beb6593203c70c9b44 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="shadow-medical">{{Cite web |last=Smith |first=Jordan |title=The Shadow Medical Community Behind the Attempt to Ban Medication Abortion |url=https://theintercept.com/2023/02/28/medication-abortion-lawsuit/ |access-date=2023-03-03 |website=The Intercept |date=February 28, 2023 |language=en |archive-date=March 8, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230308010655/https://theintercept.com/2023/02/28/medication-abortion-lawsuit/ |url-status=live }}</ref> a case where the plaintiff has challenged the [[Food and Drug Administration|U.S Food and Drug Agency's]] longstanding approval of [[mifepristone]], a drug frequently used in [[medical abortion]] procedures.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=McCann |first1=Allison |last2=Walker |first2=Amy Schoenfeld |date=2023-03-02 |title=Where Restrictions on Abortion Pills Could Matter Most in the U.S. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2023/03/02/us/abortion-pill-lawsuit-mifepristone.html |access-date=2023-03-03 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=March 6, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230306054512/https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2023/03/02/us/abortion-pill-lawsuit-mifepristone.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=In lawsuit challenging FDA approval of abortion pills, state attorneys general weigh in |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/health/womens-health/lawsuit-seeks-to-reverse-fda-approval-abortion-pills-rcna70207 |access-date=2023-03-03 |publisher=NBC News |date=February 11, 2023 |language=en |archive-date=March 6, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230306055138/https://www.nbcnews.com/health/womens-health/lawsuit-seeks-to-reverse-fda-approval-abortion-pills-rcna70207 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Pierson |first=Brendan |date=2023-01-17 |title=Reversing abortion drug's approval would harm public interest, U.S. FDA says |language=en |publisher=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/us/reversing-abortion-drugs-approval-would-harm-public-interest-us-fda-says-2023-01-17/ |access-date=2023-03-03 |archive-date=March 4, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230304165314/https://www.reuters.com/world/us/reversing-abortion-drugs-approval-would-harm-public-interest-us-fda-says-2023-01-17/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

One of its most notable legal battles was a 2014 case challenging the [[Affordable Care Act]]. In ''[[Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc.]]'', the Court ruled that the birth control mandate in employee-funded health plans when the company is "closely-held" violated the [[Religious Freedom Restoration Act]] of 1993. The case set a precedent for allowing corporations and individuals to make religious claims for exemption from laws and regulations based on a religious freedom argument.<ref name="sherry">{{Cite web |url=https://www.cpr.org/news/story/who-is-the-alliance-defending-freedom-masterpiece-cakeshops-legal-team |title=Who Is The Alliance Defending Freedom, The Legal Team Behind Masterpiece Cakeshop? |last=Allison |first=Sherry |date=December 5, 2017 |publisher=Colorado Public Radio |access-date=January 28, 2018 |archive-date=January 30, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180130205203/https://www.cpr.org/news/story/who-is-the-alliance-defending-freedom-masterpiece-cakeshops-legal-team |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Willis|first1=David|title=Hobby Lobby case: Court curbs contraception mandate|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/28093756|access-date=June 30, 2014|publisher=BBC News|date=June 30, 2014|archive-date=June 30, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140630234018/http://www.bbc.com/news/28093756|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=O'Donoghue|first1=Amy Joi|title=Group protests Hobby Lobby decision on birth control|url=http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865606395/Group-protests-Hobby-Lobby-decision-on-birth-control.html?pg=all|access-date=July 30, 2014|work=Deseret News|date=July 5, 2014|archive-date=August 12, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140812150817/http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865606395/Group-protests-Hobby-Lobby-decision-on-birth-control.html?pg=all|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | work=BusinessWeek | url=http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-07-07/supreme-court-feuds-over-the-hobby-lobby-birth-control-ruling | title=A Supreme Feud Over Birth Control: Four Blunt Points | date=July 7, 2014 | first=Paul | last=Barrett | access-date=July 17, 2014 | archive-date=January 13, 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150113042937/http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-07-07/supreme-court-feuds-over-the-hobby-lobby-birth-control-ruling | url-status=dead }}</ref> The [[Supreme Court of the United States|United States Supreme Court]] held that privately held [[corporations]] could be [[Religious exemption|exempt]] from [[Affordable Care Act]] regulations if the owners asserted religiously objections, basing the decision on the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993. The decision meant that many employers could decide not to cover contraceptives through their health insurance plans.<ref>{{cite news | last=Blake | first=Aaron | title=A LOT of people could be affected by the Supreme Court's birth control decision — theoretically | date=June 30, 2014 | newspaper=The Washington Post | url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2014/06/30/a-lot-of-people-could-be-affected-by-the-supreme-courts-birth-control-decision/ | access-date=July 25, 2022 | archive-date=April 4, 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150404014432/http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2014/06/30/a-lot-of-people-could-be-affected-by-the-supreme-courts-birth-control-decision/ | url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news | publisher=CNN | url=http://www.cnn.com/2014/06/30/politics/scotus-obamacare-contraception/ | title=Supreme Court rules against Obama in contraception case | first=Bill | last=Mears | author2=Tom Cohen | date=June 30, 2014 | access-date=June 30, 2014 | archive-date=April 30, 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210430042415/https://www.cnn.com/2014/06/30/politics/scotus-obamacare-contraception/ | url-status=live }}</ref>

In 2014, lawyers from the organization represented parents who wanted public schools to remove pages from a biology textbook that mentioned abortion and [[sexually transmitted diseases]].<ref name="gilbert-sex-ed">{{cite news | title=In Arizona, a Textbook Fuels a Broader Dispute Over Sex Education | author=Rick Rojas | work=The New York Times | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/28/us/in-arizona-a-textbook-fuels-a-broader-dispute-over-sex-education.html | date=28 November 2014 | access-date=24 June 2023}}</ref>

====International anti-abortion work====
ADF has led an international campaign to influence and restrict the right to abortion.<ref>[https://adfinternational.org/regions/europe/campaigns/freedom-of-conscience ADF website: ''Members of the European Parliament speak out for Freedom of Conscience''] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170124110419/https://adfinternational.org/regions/europe/campaigns/freedom-of-conscience|date=January 24, 2017}}. Retrieved January 24, 2017</ref> The organization takes the position that [[healthcare]] workers have a right to refuse to provide care for abortion and other practices the individual finds morally objectionable.<ref name="hobby-decision">{{cite web | url=https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/blog/2014/06/30/supreme-courts-hobby-lobby-decision | title=The Supreme Court's Hobby Lobby Decision | last=Holst | first=Lindsay | date=June 30, 2014 | access-date=March 19, 2022 | archive-date=April 23, 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220423183543/https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/blog/2014/06/30/supreme-courts-hobby-lobby-decision | url-status=live }}</ref> ADF has backed anti-abortion causes in Ireland,<ref name="christian army" /> El Salvador, Colombia, Poland and Sweden.<ref name="dark money">{{cite web | url=https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/5050/us-rightwing-mississippi-abortion/ | title=US 'dark money' groups behind Mississippi abortion case spend millions overseas | last1=Cordero | first1=Mónica | last2=Cariboni | first2=Diana | last3=Ferreira | first3=Lou | date=December 3, 2021 | access-date=March 21, 2022 | archive-date=March 22, 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220322023547/https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/5050/us-rightwing-mississippi-abortion/ | url-status=live }}</ref> In the United Kingdom, the group has campaigned against [[Legal protection of access to abortion|buffer zones]] around abortion clinics.<ref name="uk-spending">{{cite news |last1=Provost |first1=Claire |last2=Geoghegan |first2=Peter |title=Revealed: US anti-LGBT 'hate group' dramatically increases UK spending |url=https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/5050/revealed-us-anti-lgbt-hate-group-dramatically-increases-uk-spending/ |work=openDemocracy |date=March 20, 2019 |access-date=November 30, 2021 |archive-date=November 30, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211130225325/https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/5050/revealed-us-anti-lgbt-hate-group-dramatically-increases-uk-spending/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

In Sweden, a midwife, Ellinor Grimmark, sued the province of [[Jönköping County|Jönköping]] for discrimination because she was refused employment when, citing "freedom of conscience", she refused to give [[morning-after pills]], perform abortions, or put in copper [[IUDs]]. She lost both her hearing before the Discrimination Ombudsman, and at the Jönköping district court.<ref name="barnmorskor">[[Sveriges Radio]] 24 januari 2017: [http://sverigesradio.se/sida/artikel.aspx?programid=83&artikel=6614458 ''Abortvägrande barnmorskor får stöd av amerikansk lobby''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220220211957/https://sverigesradio.se/artikel/6614458 |date=February 20, 2022 }}. Retrieved January 24, 2017</ref> The proceedings in the Labor Court of Sweden began on January 24, 2017, and her case received both legal and financial aid from ADF. Grimmark's legal representative, Ruth Nordström, was a registered partner of ADF,<ref>[http://www.adfmedia.org/News/PRDetail/9848 ADF website 27 januari 2016: ''Sweden faces human rights problem''] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170103040410/http://www.adfmedia.org/News/PRDetail/9848|date=January 3, 2017}}. Retrieved January 24, 2017</ref> and both Grimmark and Nordström participated in ADFs marketing films.<ref>[http://sverigesradio.se/sida/artikel.aspx?programid=83&artikel=6615313 Sveriges Radio 24 januari 2017: ''Abortvägrande barnmorskan välkomnar lobbyns stöd''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170825051911/http://sverigesradio.se/sida/artikel.aspx?programid=83&artikel=6615313 |date=August 25, 2017 }}. Retrieved January 24, 2017</ref> Nordström co-wrote an opinion piece opposing abortion rights with an ADF representative for [[Sveriges Television]], Sweden's national public television broadcaster.<ref>[http://www.svt.se/opinion/sverige-behover-ett-starkare-rattsskydd-for-ofodda-barn SVT 23 augusti 2013: ''Sverige behöver ett starkare rättsskydd för ofödda barn''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221002082838/https://www.svt.se/opinion/sverige-behover-ett-starkare-rattsskydd-for-ofodda-barn |date=October 2, 2022 }}. Retrieved January 24, 2017</ref>

====Campaigns against assisted suicide====
The ADF has campaigned against the legalization of [[voluntary euthanasia]] in the United Kingdom.<ref name="uk-spending" /> The group has also challenged the right to euthanasia in Belgium, before the [[European Court of Human Rights]].<ref name="belgium">{{cite web | url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/right-die-belgium-inside-worlds-liberal-euthanasia-laws | title=The right to die in Belgium: An inside look at the world's most liberal euthanasia law | work=[[PBS NewsHour]] | publisher=PBS | date=January 15, 2015 | access-date=March 20, 2022 | archive-date=March 21, 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220321005230/https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/right-die-belgium-inside-worlds-liberal-euthanasia-laws | url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite report | url=https://www.echr.coe.int/documents/cp_belgium_eng.pdf | title=Press Country Profile | publisher=European Court of Human Rights | date=January 2022 | access-date=March 20, 2022 | archive-date=March 4, 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220304231433/https://www.echr.coe.int/Documents/CP_Belgium_ENG.pdf | url-status=live }}</ref> ADF India also campaigns against assisted suicide and euthanasia.<ref name="adfindia2">{{cite web | title=Affirm Dignity - End Euthanasia | website=ADF India | date=June 17, 2020 | url=https://adfindia.org/campaigns/affirm-dignity-end-euthanasia/ | access-date=2023-03-05 | archive-date=March 6, 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230306043050/https://adfindia.org/campaigns/affirm-dignity-end-euthanasia/ | url-status=live }}</ref>

===COVID-19 restriction cases===
ADF has opposed government measures aimed at stopping the spread of COVID-19 in the United States and in other countries. In the US, ADF partnered with [[The Daily Wire]] in a legal challenge against the Biden administration's [[Biden Administration COVID-19 action plan#OSHA COVID-19 Vaccination Emergency Temporary Standard|OSHA vaccine mandate]].<ref name="block-vaccine" /> In Uganda, ADF joined a Texas libertarian organization in backing a campaign to end restrictions on large gatherings that the government had implemented to reduce [[COVID-19]] spread.<ref name="covid-misinformation" /> ADF brought legal challenges against the Ugandan government's regulations on large gatherings.<ref name="uganda-worship-covid" /> In Scotland, ADF fought against COVID-19 regulations on large gatherings, claiming that the measures were unfair to religious groups.<ref name="open-doors-covid" /> The ADF-backed lawsuit won in Scotland's high court. A poll commissioned by the Humanist Society showed that more than three-quarters of Scots were opposed to the church's reopening and the [[Church of Scotland]] distanced itself from the legal action, saying that they accepted measures to prevent COVID-19 spread.<ref name="scotland-covid" />

===Non-profit donor disclosure===
In the US Supreme Court decision ''[[Americans for Prosperity Foundation v. Bonta]]'' (2021), ADF argued that non-profits should not be required to disclose the identities of their donors on California state tax returns. Donors who gave more than $5,000 or 2% of the total donations to a non-profit in a year were to be named on the state returns. In a victory for ADF, the court struck down the disclosure law as unconstitutional.<ref name="disclosure" />

== Other activities ==
===Blackstone Legal Fellowship===
[[Blackstone Legal Fellowship]], named after the English jurist [[William Blackstone]], is ADF's summer legal training program. It was founded in 2000 for the purpose of preparing Christian law students for professional legal careers. The first class comprised 24 interns.<ref name="dexter" /> The program is made up of interns, called Fellows, from a diverse selection of law schools as well as elite institutions such as Harvard and Yale.<ref name="dexter" /> [[Amy Coney Barrett]], who went on to be Associate Justice of the [[Supreme Court of the United States]], was a paid speaker at Blackstone on five occasions between 2013 and 2017.<ref name="WaPoBlackstone" />

=== Public campaigns ===
In 2003 the ADF launched the "Christmas Project", aiming to discourage non-Christian holidays from being celebrated and to promote Christmas celebrations in public schools.<ref name="The Christian Post" /><ref name="oreilly-donate" /> The annual initiative was organized in an effort to prevent school districts from holding secular holiday celebrations, or what the organization called the "censorship of Christmas". In its press release ADF singled out the American Civil Liberties Union as the chief target of the campaign.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://adflegal.org/detailspages/press-release-details/alliance-defense-fund-announces-plan-to-fight-censorship-of-christmas |title=Alliance Defense Fund Announces Plan to Fight Censorship of Christmas |date=October 20, 2003 |publisher=Alliance Defending Freedom |access-date=February 14, 2018 |archive-date=February 16, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180216204943/https://adflegal.org/detailspages/press-release-details/alliance-defense-fund-announces-plan-to-fight-censorship-of-christmas |url-status=live }}</ref> By 2004, the organization had contacted 3,600 school districts to inform them that they were not required by the Constitution to have holiday celebrations inclusive of all religions.<ref name="The Christian Post" />

In 2005 the ADF and [[Focus on the Family]] began sponsoring a counter-protest called the Day of Truth (later called "[[Day of Dialogue]]") to oppose the annual [[Day of Silence]], an annual event to promote awareness of anti-LGBT bullying and harassment in schools. The ADF asserted that 1,100 students from 350 schools participated in ADF's event, which ADF billed as a response to the "[[homosexual agenda]]".<ref name="day-of-stats" />

===Church political activity and tax exemption===
[[File:Pulpit Freedom Sunday 2011.jpg|thumb|right|325px|Pulpit Freedom Sunday in 2011]]
In 2008, ADF launched the first [[Pulpit Freedom Sunday]] to promote political messaging and endorsements in Christian pastors' sermons in defiance of the prohibition on political endorsements by non-profit 501(c)(3) organizations under the 1954 [[Johnson Amendment]].<ref name="johnson-amend">{{cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/2017/02/03/513187940/the-johnson-amendment-in-five-questions-and-answers|title=The Johnson Amendment In 5 Questions And Answers|date=February 3, 2017|first=Tom|last=Gjelten|publisher=[[NPR]]|access-date=July 24, 2022|archive-date=July 24, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220724204616/https://www.npr.org/2017/02/03/513187940/the-johnson-amendment-in-five-questions-and-answers|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="eckholm" /><ref name="vile-johnson" /> The practice of political endorsement is not broadly accepted within the evangelical community, with most Evangelical pastors opposed as of 2017.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.nae.org/pastors-shouldnt-endorse-politicians/ | title=Pastors shouldn't endorse politicians | publisher=National Alliance of Evangelicals | access-date=March 19, 2022 | archive-date=February 27, 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220227013449/https://www.nae.org/pastors-shouldnt-endorse-politicians/ | url-status=live }}</ref>

[[Pulpit Freedom Sunday]] is an initiative aimed to overturn the [[Johnson Amendment]], which restricts political campaigning by tax-exempt non-profit organizations, which includes most churches. According to ''The New York Times'', ADF's campaign is "perhaps its most aggressive effort."<ref name="eckholm" /> In the first year about 35 pastors participated, in what they consider an act of civil disobedience, endorsing political candidates in their sermons and defying the Internal Revenue Service regulations. In Minnesota, Reverend Gus Booth encouraged his congregation to vote for [[John McCain]] rather than [[Barack Obama]].<ref name="lampman">{{Cite news |last=Lampman |first=Jane |url=https://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Politics/2008/0926/p03s02-uspo.html |title=Pulpit politics: Pastors to defy IRS |date=September 26, 2008 |work=The Christian Science Monitor |access-date=February 4, 2018 |archive-date=February 5, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180205000819/https://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Politics/2008/0926/p03s02-uspo.html |url-status=live }}</ref> {{As of|2014}}, participation in the event had grown to about 1,800 pastors. The IRS indicated that it would increase enforcement of the Johnson Amendment.<ref name="kumar">{{Cite news |last=Kumar |first=Anugrah |url=https://www.christianpost.com/news/over-1800-pastors-take-part-in-pulpit-freedom-sunday-127914/ |title=Over 1,800 Pastors Take Part in Pulpit Freedom Sunday |date=October 11, 2014 |work=The Christian Post |access-date=February 4, 2018 |archive-date=March 3, 2015 |archive-url=https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20150303032404/http://www.christianpost.com/news/over-1800-pastors-take-part-in-pulpit-freedom-sunday-127914/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Reception==

Principal concerns of the ADF have been [[Abortion law|prohibiting abortion]] and opposing [[LGBT rights in the United States|gay rights]]. Several founding members wrote books condemning [[homosexuality]], including longtime president Alan Sears, who authored the 2003 book ''The Homosexual Agenda'',<ref name="sears-agenda" /><ref name="sessions task force" /> and Marlin Malloux, who wrote 1994's ''Answers to the Gay Deception''.<ref name="gay-deception" /> D. James Kennedy dismissed same-sex marriage as "counterfeit"<ref name="firewall" /> and promoted pseudoscientific [[conversion therapy]],<ref name="kennedy-same-sex" /> which helped launch a ministry aiming to help gay people "overcome" homosexuality.<ref name="dobson-exodus" /><ref name="love-out" />

In July 2017, U.S. sitting Attorney General [[Jeff Sessions]] attended ADF's Summit on Religious Liberty. LGBTQ rights groups criticized Sessions for his participation at the event. [[Dominic Holden]] wrote in ''[[BuzzFeed News]]'' that ADF's growing influence within the federal government can be attributed to Sessions' support.<ref name="sessions-adf" /><ref name="holden" />

''[[The Nation]]'', a [[Progressivism in the United States|progressive]] monthly magazine, describes ADF as a vanguard evangelical Christian legal advocacy group.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Lehmann |first1=Chris |title=The Vanguard Party of the Christian Right |url=https://www.thenation.com/article/society/alliance-defending-freedom/ |website=The Nation |date=5 October 2023}}</ref> After the Supreme Court overturned ''Roe v. Wade'', ''[[Politico]]'' and ''[[The New York Times Magazine]]'' identified ADF as being a prominent organization for battling conservative legal causes.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Ward |first1=Ian |title=They Took Down Roe. Now They're Fighting Abortion Pills. How Far is Alliance Defending Freedom Willing to Go? |url=https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2024/03/25/head-of-alliance-defending-freedom-kristen-waggoner-speaks-on-mifepristone-00148565 |website=Politico |language=en |date=25 March 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Gilsinan |first1=Kathy |title='Josh Is a Show Pony. Erin Is a Workhorse.' |url=https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2024/02/23/erin-hawley-abortion-pill-supreme-court-00142493 |website=Politico |language=en |date=23 February 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Dias |first1=Elizabeth |last2=Lerer |first2=Lisa |title=The Untold Story of the Network That Took Down Roe v. Wade |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/28/magazine/roe-v-wade-christian-network.html |website=The New York Times |date=28 May 2024}}</ref> The organization's international division provides legal support to people who align with its American causes.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Ott |first1=Haley |last2=Lyons |first2=Emmet |title=How the group behind the Supreme Court abortion drug case is expanding its fight globally - CBS News |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/alliance-defending-freedom-adf-supreme-court-abortion-drug-case-global/ |publisher=CBS News |date=14 June 2024}}</ref>

The [[Southern Poverty Law Center]] listed the organization as an extremist anti-LGBTQ hate group in 2016.<!-- as with the lead, don't remove this without first getting consensus on the talk page. --> The group's designation "was a judgment call that went all the way up to top leadership at the SPLC."<ref name="postmag">{{Cite news |last=Montgomery |first=David |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/magazine/wp/2018/11/08/feature/is-the-southern-poverty-law-center-judging-hate-fairly/ |title=The State of Hate |date=November 8, 2018 |access-date=December 27, 2018 |work=[[The Washington Post Magazine]] |archive-date=September 24, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210924230017/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/magazine/wp/2018/11/08/feature/is-the-southern-poverty-law-center-judging-hate-fairly/ |url-status=live }}</ref> According to the SPLC, the ADF was included on the list due to the group's filing of an [[amicus brief]] in the 2003 U.S. Supreme Court case ''[[Lawrence v. Texas]]'', in which the ADF expressed support for upholding the state's right to criminalize consensual sexual acts between people of the same sex.<ref name="nbc" /> The SPLC has described the ADF as "virulently [[anti-gay]]".<ref name="splc-profile" /><ref name="war on krishna" /> The SPLC describes the group's mission as "making life as difficult as possible for LGBT communities in the U.S. and internationally."<ref name="nbc" /> The ADF has opposed its inclusion on the SPLC's list.<ref name="postmag" /> Farris has called the SPLC's designation of ADF as a hate group a "troubling smear" and "slander".<ref name="nat-review" />

In regards to anti-trans legislation efforts made by ADF, organizations such as [[GLAAD]] and the [[Human Rights Campaign]] (HRC) have claimed that ADF works with other extremist groups to oppress marginalized people.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/jun/19/alliance-defending-freedom-lgbtq-rights-america|title=Well-funded Christian group behind US effort to roll back LGBTQ+ rights|website=The Guardian|date=June 19, 2023|author=Adam Gabbatt|access-date=February 20, 2025}}</ref> In 2022, ADF authored at least 130 bills in 34 states; more than 30 were passed into law.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.hrc.org/news/alliance-defending-freedom-staunch-enemy-of-equality|title=Alliance Defending Freedom: Staunch Enemy of Equality|publisher=HRC|date=January 22, 2024|access-date=February 20, 2025}}</ref>

Some opponents of the Pulpit Freedom Sunday movement have voiced concern about permitting churches to endorse politicians because it would allow political donors to remain anonymous and to get tax breaks for their donations.<ref name="declaw" /> Unlike other [[Non-profit organization|non-profits]], churches are not required to make financial disclosures, so churches endorsing politicians could act as funnels for anonymous campaign donations, or "[[dark money]]".<ref name="vile-johnson" />

==Associated people==
The following people are currently or have been affiliated or associated with ADF:
{{div col|gap=2.5em}}<!-- default width is 30em -->
* [[Tony Abbott]], former prime minister of Australia<ref name="abc.net.au" />
* [[William Barr]], former US Attorney General under [[George H. W. Bush]] and [[Donald Trump]], ADF Award recipient in 2021<ref name= barr/>
* [[Amy Coney Barrett]], Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, previously taught constitutional law at Blackstone Legal Fellowship<ref name="WaPoBlackstone" /><ref name="farris-barrett" />
* [[Bill Bright]] founder of [[Campus Crusade for Christ]] and ADF<ref name="founders" />
* [[J. Budziszewski]], professor, member of advisory board of Blackstone<ref name="blackstone">{{Cite web |url=http://www.blackstonelegalfellowship.org/ |title=Blackstone Legal Fellowship |publisher=Alliance Defending Freedom |access-date=February 2, 2018 |archive-date=February 3, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180203064211/http://www.blackstonelegalfellowship.org/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
* [[Larry Burkett]] founder of [[Crown Financial Ministries]] and ADF<ref name="founders" />
* Paul Coleman, executive director of ADF International<ref>{{cite web | url=https://adfinternational.org/paul-coleman/ | title=Paul Coleman | publisher=ADF International | access-date=March 21, 2022 | archive-date=March 22, 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220322030008/https://adfinternational.org/paul-coleman/ | url-status=live }}</ref>
* [[Chapman B. Cox]], former General Counsel of the United States Department of Defense, ADF chairman emeritus<ref name="leadership">{{Cite web |url=https://www.adflegal.org/about-us/leadership |title=Leadership |date=2018 |publisher=Alliance Defending Freedom |access-date=February 2, 2018 |archive-date=February 3, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180203064110/https://www.adflegal.org/about-us/leadership |url-status=live }}</ref>
* [[Marjorie Dannenfelser]], president of the [[Susan B. Anthony List]] and member of ADF Board<ref name="leadership" />
* [[James Dobson]] founder of [[Focus on the Family]] and ADF<ref name="founders" />
* [[Kyle Duncan (judge)|Kyle Duncan]], judge appointed by Trump to the [[Fifth Circuit]] Court of Appeals, speaker for ADF in 2007, 2008, and 2009<ref name="duncan-bio">{{cite web | title=Kyle Duncan | publisher=U.S. Senate Judiciary | last=Duncan | first=Stuart Kyle | url=https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/Duncan%20SJQ1.pdf | access-date=December 3, 2022 | archive-date=September 19, 2018 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180919101043/https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/Duncan%20SJQ1.pdf | url-status=live }}</ref>
* [[Michael Farris (lawyer)|Michael Farris]], president and CEO from 2017 to 2022<ref name="adflegal.org" /><ref name="2022CEO" />
* [[David A. French]], ''[[New York Times]]'' columnist, former Senior Counsel at ADF, formerly a journalist at ''[[National Review]]'' and [[The Dispatch]]<ref name="ross" />
* [[Robert P. George]], legal scholar, member of Blackstone Advisory Board<ref name="blackstone" />
* [[Mary Ann Glendon]], former U. S. Ambassador to the Holy See, member of Blackstone Advisory Board<ref name="blackstone" />
* [[Erin Hawley]], ADF senior counsel (spouse of Senator Josh Hawley)<ref name="erin-hawley-fedsoc" />
* [[Josh Hawley]], U.S. Senator for Missouri, former member of Blackstone Fellowship<ref name =hawley-blackstone>{{cite web |last1=Fenske |first1=Sarah |title=As a Mizzou Prof, Josh Hawley Took Money from Anti-Gay 'Alliance Defending Freedom' |url=https://www.riverfronttimes.com/newsblog/2018/06/29/as-a-mizzou-prof-josh-hawley-took-money-from-anti-gay-alliance-defending-freedom |work=[[Riverfront Times|The Riverfront Times]] |date=June 29, 2018 |access-date=September 28, 2018 |archive-date=September 28, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180928200857/https://www.riverfronttimes.com/newsblog/2018/06/29/as-a-mizzou-prof-josh-hawley-took-money-from-anti-gay-alliance-defending-freedom |url-status=live }}</ref> (spouse of Erin Hawley)
* [[Mike Johnson]], former ADF attorney, Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives (Representative of Louisiana)<ref>{{Cite news |last=Lane |first=Emily |url=http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2015/05/mike_johnson_religious_freedom_1.html |title=Religious freedom bill sponsor Rep. Mike Johnson: Superman for Louisiana's religious right? |date=May 15, 2015 |access-date=February 2, 2018 |work=The Times-Picayune |archive-date=February 2, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180202190356/http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2015/05/mike_johnson_religious_freedom_1.html |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name=2023-johnson-cbs/>
* [[Michael J. Juneau]], judge of the U.S. District Court, Western District of Louisiana<ref name="broach">{{Cite news |last=Broach |first=Drew |url=http://www.nola.com/national_politics/2018/01/kyle_duncan_michael_juneau_sen.html |title=Kyle Duncan, Michael Juneau backed in 11-10 votes to be federal judges in Louisiana |date=January 19, 2018 |access-date=February 2, 2018 |work=The Times-Picayune |archive-date=February 2, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180202190355/http://www.nola.com/national_politics/2018/01/kyle_duncan_michael_juneau_sen.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
* [[D. James Kennedy]] founder of [[Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church|Coral Ridge Ministries]] and ADF<ref name="founders" />
* [[Charles LiMandri]], attorney associated with the [[Mount Soledad cross controversy|Mount Soledad Cross lawsuits]]
* [[Marlin Maddoux]] president, International Christian Media and ADF founder<ref name="founders" />
* [[Edwin Meese]], former Attorney General of the United States, member of Blackstone Advisory Board<ref name="blackstone" />
* [[Mike Pence]], former Vice President of the United States; appointed former ADF President Michael Farris to his Advancing American Freedom Advisory Board<ref name="pence-advisory" />
* William Pew, co-founder of ADF<ref name="founders" />
* [[Charles W. Pickering]], former judge for the [[Fifth Circuit]] Court of Appeals, ADF Board member<ref name="leadership" />
* [[Charles E. Rice]], legal scholar, member of Blackstone Advisory Board<ref name="blackstone" />
* [[Allison Jones Rushing]], judge of the [[Fourth Circuit]] Court of Appeals<ref>{{Cite news |author=Jennifer Bendery |author-link=Jennifer Bendery |url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/trump-judicial-nominees-republicans_us_5bd0c08ee4b0d38b587f50e6 |title=Senate's Out? Nobody's Around? Perfect Time To Advance Trump's Court Picks, Says GOP. |date=October 24, 2018 |work=The Huffington Post |access-date=October 26, 2018 |language=en-US |archive-date=October 26, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181026110435/https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/trump-judicial-nominees-republicans_us_5bd0c08ee4b0d38b587f50e6 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="2019-03-06-nbc">{{Cite web |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/trump-s-newly-confirmed-federal-judge-has-ties-anti-gay-n980281 |title=Trump's new federal judge has ties to anti-gay 'hate group' |publisher=NBC News |date=March 6, 2019 |access-date=March 7, 2019 |archive-date=March 7, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190307012151/https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/trump-s-newly-confirmed-federal-judge-has-ties-anti-gay-n980281 |url-status=live }}</ref>
* [[Andrew Sandlin]], Christian minister, faculty member at Blackstone<ref name="blackstone" />
* [[Alan Seabaugh]], member of Louisiana legislature, ADF-allied attorney<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://alanseabaugh.com/about-alana-seabaugh-louisianastate-representative/ |title=Meet Alan |publisher=Alan Seabrough State Representative |access-date=February 2, 2018 |archive-date=February 2, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180202190244/http://alanseabaugh.com/about-alana-seabaugh-louisianastate-representative/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>
* [[Alan Sears]], attorney, and founder and first president and CEO of ADF
* [[Jeff Sessions]], former U.S. Attorney General under Donald Trump and U.S. Senator for Alabama<ref name="holden" /><ref name="sessions-adf" />
*[[Brantley Starr]], United States district judge of the [[United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://thehill.com/homenews/ap/ap-business/ap-legal-experts-question-judges-order-telling-southwest-lawyers-to-get-religious-liberty-training/|title=Legal experts question judge's order telling Southwest lawyers to get religious-liberty training|work=The Hill |date=August 12, 2023 }}</ref>
* [[Ken Starr]], judge and [[independent counsel]] in [[Clinton impeachment]], member of ADF's Supreme Court Advisory Council<ref>{{cite web | title=ADF celebrates extraordinary life of Judge Ken Starr, religious liberty champion | date=September 14, 2022 | publisher=Alliance Defending Freedom Legal | url=https://adflegal.org/press-release/adf-celebrates-extraordinary-life-judge-ken-starr-religious-liberty-champion | access-date=December 4, 2022 | archive-date=December 4, 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221204052128/https://adflegal.org/press-release/adf-celebrates-extraordinary-life-judge-ken-starr-religious-liberty-champion | url-status=live }}</ref>
* [[Lawrence VanDyke]], federal judge for the [[U.S. Court of Appeals|Ninth Circuit]], former ADF legal intern and law student training panelist<ref name="vandyke" />
* [[Kristen Waggoner]], ADF President and CEO as of 2022
* [[Doug Wardlow]], former Minnesota legislator, former lawyer at ADF<ref name="Bierschbach">{{Cite web |url=https://www.minnpost.com/politics-policy/2018/01/campaign-become-minnesotas-next-attorney-general-crowded-intense-and-very-mu |title=The campaign to become Minnesota's next attorney general is crowded, intense — and very much under the radar |last=Bierschbach |first=Briana |date=January 10, 2018 |work=MinnPost |access-date=February 2, 2018 |archive-date=January 18, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180118122650/https://www.minnpost.com/politics-policy/2018/01/campaign-become-minnesotas-next-attorney-general-crowded-intense-and-very-mu |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Villarreal|first=Daniel|date=February 17, 2021|title=MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell's Lawyer Doug Wardlow Announces Run for Minnesota Attorney General|url=https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/mypillow-ceo-mike-lindell-s-lawyer-doug-wardlow-announces-run-for-minnesota-attorney-general/ar-BB1dM0zR|url-status=live|access-date=May 18, 2021|website=MSN |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210518141120/https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/mypillow-ceo-mike-lindell-s-lawyer-doug-wardlow-announces-run-for-minnesota-attorney-general/ar-BB1dM0zR |archive-date=May 18, 2021 }}</ref>
{{div col end}}

==See also==
{{Portal|Conservatism|Christianity|Law|United States}}
*[[Alliance for Therapeutic Choice and Scientific Integrity]]
*[[American Center for Law and Justice]]
*[[American Family Association]]
*[[Americans United for Life]]
*[[Becket Law]]
*[[Center for Individual Rights]]
*[[Christian Legal Society]]
*[[Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission]]
*[[Family Policy Council]]
*[[Federalist Society]]
*[[First Liberty Institute]]
*[[The Heritage Foundation]]
*[[Liberty Counsel]]
*[[Liberty University]]
*[[List of court cases involving Alliance Defending Freedom]]
*[[National Association of Evangelicals]]
*[[National Organization for Marriage]]
*[[National Right to Life Committee]]
*[[Operation Rescue (Kansas)|Operation Rescue]]
*[[Pacific Justice Institute]]
*[[Regent University]]
*[[Thomas More Society]]

==References==
'''Notes'''
{{reflist|refs=
<ref name="corp">"[https://sccefile.scc.virginia.gov/Business/0406991 Alliance Defending Freedom] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160918201155/https://sccefile.scc.virginia.gov/Business/0406991 |date=September 18, 2016}}". ''Business Entity Details''. State Corporation Commission. Commonwealth of Virginia. Retrieved September 9, 2016.</ref>
<ref name="vile-adf">{{Cite web|last=Vile|first=John|title=Alliance Defending Freedom|url=https://www.mtsu.edu:8443/first-amendment/article/1505/alliance-defending-freedom|url-status=live|access-date=December 1, 2021|website=The First Amendment Encyclopedia| publisher=Middle Tennessee State University | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211201191152/https://www.mtsu.edu:8443/first-amendment/article/1505/alliance-defending-freedom |archive-date=December 1, 2021}}</ref>
<ref name="990-2008">{{cite form 990 | url=https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/display_990/541660459/2009_03_EO%2F54-1660459_990_200806 | signatory-last=Feddern | signatory-first=Mark | preparer-last=Sanders | preparer-first=Vicki | tax-year=2007 | org=Alliance Defense Fund Inc | ein=541660459 | signature-date=February 20, 2009 | modification-date=March 9, 2009 | via=[[ProPublica]] | access-date=March 25, 2022 | archive-date=October 26, 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221026232607/https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/display_990/541660459/2009_03_EO%2F54-1660459_990_200806 | url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="irseo">"[https://apps.irs.gov/app/eos/pub78Search.do?ein1=54-1660459&names=&city=&state=All...&country=US&deductibility=all&dispatchMethod=searchCharities&submitName=Search Alliance Defending Freedom] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170702063949/https://apps.irs.gov/app/eos/pub78Search.do?ein1=54-1660459&names=&city=&state=All...&country=US&deductibility=all&dispatchMethod=searchCharities&submitName=Search |date=July 2, 2017}}". ''Exempt Organization Select Check''. Internal Revenue Service. Retrieved September 9, 2016.</ref>
<ref name="Good News Club">{{Cite book |last=Stewart |first=Katherine |title=The Good News Club: The Christian Right's Stealth Assault on America's Children |url=https://archive.org/details/goodnewsclubchri0000stew |url-access=registration |date=2011 |publisher=PublicAffairs |isbn=978-1586488437}}</ref>
<ref name="irs2020">{{cite web | url=https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/541660459 | publisher=ProPublica | title=Alliance Defending Freedom - Nonprofit Explorer | date=May 18, 2021 | access-date=March 21, 2022 | archive-date=April 25, 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220425042116/https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/541660459 | url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="irs2022">{{cite form 990 | url=https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/541660459/202331319349305353/full | via=[[ProPublica]] | signatory-last=Eggleston | signatory-first=Rebecca | preparer=Capin Crouse LLC | tax-year=2021 | org=Alliance Defending Freedom | ein=541660459 | signature-date=May 11, 2023 | access-date=August 12, 2023}}</ref>
<ref name="transrights">{{cite web |last1=Avery |first1=Dan |title=State anti-transgender bills represent coordinated attack, advocates say |date=Feb 17, 2021 |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/state-anti-transgender-bills-represent-coordinated-attack-advocates-say-n1258124 |publisher=NBC News |language=en |access-date=June 3, 2021 |archive-date=June 3, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210603233024/https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/state-anti-transgender-bills-represent-coordinated-attack-advocates-say-n1258124 |url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="waggoner-ceo">{{cite web|title=ADF names new president, CEO|url=https://adflegal.org/press-release/adf-names-new-president-ceo |date=19 August 2022|publisher=Alliance Defending Freedom|access-date=2 October 2022|archive-date=4 October 2022| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221004201805/https://adflegal.org/press-release/adf-names-new-president-ceo|url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="adf-goes-global">{{cite news|first1=David|last1=Roach|url=https://www.christianitytoday.com/news/2022/july/alliance-defending-freedom-international-religious-liberty.html|title=Religious Liberty Firm Goes Global with 1,500 International Cases|work=Christianity Today|date=July 27, 2022|access-date=July 30, 2022|archive-date=July 30, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220730015722/https://www.christianitytoday.com/news/2022/july/alliance-defending-freedom-international-religious-liberty.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="adflegal.org">{{Cite web |url=http://www.adflegal.org/adfceo |title=ADF Names New CEO |publisher=Alliance Defending Freedom |access-date=January 11, 2017 |archive-date=January 12, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170112013216/http://www.adflegal.org/adfceo |url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="company-profile">{{cite web |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/profile/company/0992289D:US |title=Company Profile: Alliance Defending Freedom |work=Bloomberg.com |access-date=July 30, 2022 |archive-date=March 21, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230321190819/https://www.bloomberg.com/profile/company/0992289D:US |url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="990-2013">{{cite form 990 | url=http://www.guidestar.org/FinDocuments/2014/541/660/2014-541660459-0b80fce4-9.pdf | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170615221816/http://www.guidestar.org/FinDocuments/2014/541/660/2014-541660459-0b80fce4-9.pdf |archive-date=June 15, 2017 | access-date=December 26, 2018 | signatory-last=Feddern | signatory-first=Mark | preparer-last=Eckman | preparer-first=Jacqueline | tax-year=2013 | org=Alliance Defending Freedom | ein=541660459 | signature-date=May 1, 2015 | modification-date=September 12, 2015 | via=[[Guidestar]]}}</ref>
<ref name="2023-johnson-cbs">{{cite news | title=Mike Johnson elected House speaker with unanimous GOP support, ending weeks of chaos | last1=Quinn | first1=Melissa | last2=Watson | first2=Kathryn | date=25 October 2023 | publisher=CBS News | url=https://www.cbsnews.com/live-updates/house-speaker-vote-live-updates-10-25-2023 | access-date=29 October 2023}}</ref>
<ref name="2023-house-speaker">{{cite web | title=Congressman Mike Johnson Elected Speaker of the House | publisher=United States House of Representatives | url=https://www.house.gov/feature-stories/2023-10-25-new-speaker-of-the-house | access-date=29 October 2023}}</ref>
<ref name="johnson-christian-right">{{cite news | title=Christian right cheers new House speaker, conservative evangelical Mike Johnson, as one of their own | last=Smith | first=Peter | date=27 October 2023 | newspaper=Texarkana Gazette | url=https://www.texarkanagazette.com/news/2023/oct/27/christian-right-cheers-new-house-speaker | access-date=29 October 2023 | quote=Evangelical Christian conservatives have long had allies in top Republican leadership in Congress. But never before have they had one so thoroughly embedded in their movement as new House Speaker Mike Johnson. ... Johnson served as an attorney with what's now known as Alliance Defending Freedom, one of the foremost legal advocates of causes valued by many on the religious right.}}</ref>
<ref name="johnson-motherjones">{{cite news | title=Mike Johnson's Long Flirtation With Christian Nationalism: The new speaker has a lengthy association with far-right activism | last=Pauly | first=Madison | date=26 October 2023 | work=Mother Jones | url=https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2023/10/speaker-mike-johnson-lgbtq-christian-alliance-defending-freedom/ | access-date=29 October 2023 | quote=Long before he was even elected to the Louisiana legislature, he spent years as an attorney and spokesperson for the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), a powerful conservative organization that carries out much of the Christian right’s legal agenda.}}</ref>
<ref name="WaPoBlackstone">{{cite news |last1=Brown |first1=Emma |last2=Swaine |first2=John |title=Amy Coney Barrett, Supreme Court nominee, spoke at program founded to inspire a 'distinctly Christian worldview in every area of law' |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/coney-barrett-christian-law-fellowship-blackstone/2020/09/27/7ae41892-fdc5-11ea-b555-4d71a9254f4b_story.html |access-date=January 24, 2022 |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=September 27, 2020 |quote=The group changed its name to Alliance Defending Freedom in 2012 and has grown into a legal and financial powerhouse. |archive-date=March 13, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220313221353/https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/coney-barrett-christian-law-fellowship-blackstone/2020/09/27/7ae41892-fdc5-11ea-b555-4d71a9254f4b_story.html |url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="pence-advisory">{{cite news | url=https://www.salon.com/2021/04/10/mike-pence-caught-quietly-adding-hate-group-leader-to-his-new-organizations-advisory-board_partner/ | title=Mike Pence caught quietly adding hate group leader to his new organization's advisory board | last=Brigham | first=Bob | work=Salon | date=April 10, 2021 | access-date=March 21, 2022 | archive-date=March 22, 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220322025758/https://www.salon.com/2021/04/10/mike-pence-caught-quietly-adding-hate-group-leader-to-his-new-organizations-advisory-board_partner/ | url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="nbc">{{Cite news |last=O'Hara |first=Mary Emily |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/law-firm-linked-anti-transgender-bathroom-bills-across-country-n741106 |title=This Law Firm Is Linked to Anti-Transgender Bathroom Bills Across the Country |date=April 8, 2017 |access-date=August 5, 2017 |publisher=NBC News |archive-date=August 5, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170805060139/http://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/law-firm-linked-anti-transgender-bathroom-bills-across-country-n741106 |url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="adf-who">{{cite web | title=Who We Are | url=https://adflegal.org/about-us/who-we-are |access-date=24 June 2023 | publisher=Alliance Defending Freedom| date=February 11, 2021}}</ref>
<ref name="church-honor">{{Cite web|url=https://www.catholicsun.org/2017/07/06/scottsdale-couple-receive-churchs-highest-honor-for-laity/|title=Scottsdale couple receive Church's highest honor for laity|date=6 July 2017}}</ref>
<ref name="international">{{Cite web |url=https://www.adflegal.org/issues/international |title=International Overview |publisher=Alliance Defending Freedom |access-date=February 14, 2018 |archive-date=February 14, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180214202704/https://www.adflegal.org/issues/international |url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="nation-dobbs">{{cite news | last=Littlefield | first=Amy | title=The Christian Legal Army Behind the Ban on Abortion in Mississippi | work=The Nation | date=November 30, 2021 | url=https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/alliance-defending-freedom-dobbs/ | access-date=December 4, 2022 | archive-date=December 4, 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221204175615/https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/alliance-defending-freedom-dobbs/ | url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="adf-intl-about">{{cite web | url=https://adfinternational.org/about-us/ | title=About Us | publisher=ADF International | access-date=March 21, 2022 | archive-date=March 22, 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220322211156/https://adfinternational.org/about-us/ | url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="sessions-adf">{{Cite web |url=http://www.cnn.com/2017/07/13/politics/jeff-sessions-alliance-defending-freedom-speech-released/index.html |title=Sessions reveals in closed-door speech new protections for religious liberty on the way |last=Laura Jarrett |publisher=CNN |date=July 13, 2017 |access-date=August 11, 2017 |archive-date=August 11, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170811074336/http://www.cnn.com/2017/07/13/politics/jeff-sessions-alliance-defending-freedom-speech-released/index.html |url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="holden">{{Cite news |last=Holden |first=Dominic |url=https://www.buzzfeed.com/dominicholden/adf-mike-farris |title=How This Anti-Trump Evangelical Is Quietly Taking Advantage of The Trump Presidency |date=December 4, 2017 |work=BuzzFeed News |access-date=February 16, 2018 |quote=In the 10 months since Farris took over, he has shepherded the group from relative obscurity to arguably become the most influential — and increasingly prominent — conservative law group in the United States. |archive-date=February 15, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180215023013/https://www.buzzfeed.com/dominicholden/adf-mike-farris |url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="bennett">{{Cite book |last=Bennett |first=Daniel |title=Defending Faith: The Politics of the Christian Conservative Legal Movement |publisher=University Press of Kansas |year=2017 |isbn=978-0700624607}}</ref>
<ref name="stengel">{{cite magazine | last1=Stengel | first1=Richard | last2=Chua-Eoan | first2=H. G. | last3=Constable | first3=A. | last4=Taylor | first4=E. | title=Sex Busters | date=July 21, 1986 | pages=12–22 | magazine=Time | url=https://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,144566,00.html | access-date=July 23, 2022 | archive-date=July 23, 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220723020507/https://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,144566,00.html | url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="meese">{{cite encyclopedia | url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/politics/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/meese-commission | title=Meese Report | encyclopedia=Encyclopedia.com | last=Schultz | first=Jeffrey | date=1992 | access-date=March 19, 2022 | archive-date=March 19, 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220319204027/https://www.encyclopedia.com/politics/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/meese-commission | url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="sears-agenda">{{cite book | last1=Sears | first1=Alan |author2=Craig Osten | title =The Homosexual Agenda: Exposing the Principal Threat to Religious Freedom Today | year=2003 |publisher=B&H Books |isbn=978-0-8054-2698-4}}</ref>
<ref name="kennedy-same-sex">{{Cite book|title=What's Wrong with Same-Sex Marriage?|last1=Kennedy|first1=D. James|date=2004|publisher=Crossway Books|last2=Newcombe |first2=Jerry|isbn=1581346638|location=Wheaton, Ill.|pages=[https://archive.org/details/whatswrongwithsa0000kenn/page/11 11]|url=https://archive.org/details/whatswrongwithsa0000kenn/page/11}} D. James Kennedy promoted this therapy "for homosexuals who want to change, through the power of [[Jesus Christ]]."</ref>
<ref name="dobson-exodus">{{cite web |url=http://exodusfreedom.org/ |website=Exodus Freedom |title=Homepage |access-date=June 12, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130701114304/http://exodusfreedom.org/ |archive-date=July 1, 2013}} James Dobson's [[Focus on the Family]] founded an "[[ex-gay]]" ministry called "[[Love Won Out]]" to change the behavior and identities of gay people.</ref>
<ref name="love-out">{{cite web|title=Frequently Asked Questions|url=http://www.lovewonout.com/questions/|access-date=December 19, 2008|publisher=Love Won Out|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081217080150/http://www.lovewonout.com/questions/|archive-date=December 17, 2008|url-status=usurped}}</ref>
<ref name="gay-deception">{{cite book | last1=Malloux | first1=Marlin | last2=Corbett | first2=Christopher | title=Answers to the Gay Deception | publisher=International Christian Media | year=1994}}</ref>
<ref name="firewall">{{cite web |url=http://www.reclaimamerica.org/PAGES/News/news.aspx?story=1460 |title=Dr. Kennedy Calls for Constitutional "Firewall" to Protect Marriage |date=November 19, 2003 |access-date=April 28, 2007 |archive-date=September 28, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110928024656/http://www.reclaimamerica.org/PAGES/News/news.aspx?story=1460 |url-status=live}} [[D. James Kennedy]] described [[same-sex marriage]] as "counterfeit marriage"</ref>
<ref name="sessions task force">{{Cite news |last=Wilson-Hartgrove |first=Jonathan |date=31 July 2018 |title=Opinion &#124; Jeff Sessions' new "religious liberty task force" is a dangerous sham |publisher=NBC News |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/jeff-sessions-religious-liberty-task-force-part-dangerous-christian-nationalist-ncna895941 |access-date=March 19, 2022 |archive-date=March 19, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220319204026/https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/jeff-sessions-religious-liberty-task-force-part-dangerous-christian-nationalist-ncna895941 |url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="burwell2022">{{cite web | url=https://www.law.cornell.edu/supremecourt/text/13-354 | title=Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc. | access-date=July 6, 2022 | archive-date=June 29, 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220629042114/https://www.law.cornell.edu/supremecourt/text/13-354 | url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="wapo-powerhouse">{{Cite news |first1=Jessica |last1=Contrera |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/inside-the-christian-legal-powerhouse-that-keeps-winning-at-the-supreme-court/2018/07/04/fffa6aa0-7adb-11e8-93cc-6d3beccdd7a3_story.html |title=Inside the Christian legal powerhouse that keeps winning at the Supreme Court |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=October 26, 2018 |archive-date=October 2, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181002030952/https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/inside-the-christian-legal-powerhouse-that-keeps-winning-at-the-supreme-court/2018/07/04/fffa6aa0-7adb-11e8-93cc-6d3beccdd7a3_story.html |url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="barr">{{cite web |url=https://adflegal.org/william-barr-interview |title=William Barr is a Friend of Freedom |publisher=Alliance Defending Freedom |date=May 21, 2021 |access-date=March 23, 2022 |archive-date=March 20, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220320045252/https://adflegal.org/william-barr-interview |url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="audit2022">{{cite web | title=Alliance Defending Freedom and Affiliates – Consolidated Financial Statements With Independent Auditors Report, June 30, 2022 and 2021 | author=Capin Crouse | date=2022-10-27 | url=https://www.adfplannedgiving.org/org_files/1498/pdf/2021%20and%202022%20ADF%20and%20Affiliates%20Audited%20Financials.pdf | access-date=2023-08-26}}</ref>
<ref name="block-vaccine">{{cite news | url=https://www.courthousenews.com/conservative-news-outlet-asks-court-to-block-employer-vaccine-mandate/ | title=Right-wing news outlet asks court to block employer vaccine mandate | last=Koeninger | first=Kevin | date=November 4, 2021 | access-date=March 20, 2022 | archive-date=March 14, 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220314070459/https://www.courthousenews.com/conservative-news-outlet-asks-court-to-block-employer-vaccine-mandate/ | url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="covid-misinformation">{{cite web | url=https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/5050/us-conservatives-spread-anti-vaccine-covid-misinformation-uganda/ | title=US conservatives spreading anti-vax misinformation to unvaccinated Uganda | publisher=Open Democracy | last1=McCool | first1=Alice | last2=Wepukhulu | first2=Khatondi Soita | date=January 21, 2022 | access-date=March 19, 2022 | archive-date=March 20, 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220320041443/https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/5050/us-conservatives-spread-anti-vaccine-covid-misinformation-uganda/ | url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="uganda-worship-covid">{{cite web | url=https://adfinternational.org/let-us-worship-uganda/ | title=Challenging Uganda's Worship Ban #LetUsWorship | publisher=ADF International | access-date=March 19, 2022 | archive-date=February 14, 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220214175847/https://adfinternational.org/let-us-worship-uganda/ | url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="open-doors-covid">{{cite web | url=https://adf.uk/worshipban/ | title=Open doors: court declares worship ban unlawful | date=March 24, 2021 | publisher=ADF International | access-date=March 19, 2022 | archive-date=February 1, 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220201213424/https://adf.uk/worshipban/ | url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="scotland-covid">{{cite news | url=https://www.thenational.scot/news/19097739.adf-international-back-glasgow-priests-covid-court-battle-government/ | last=Learmonth | first=Andrew | title=ADF International back Glasgow priest's Covid court battle with government | publisher=The National | date=February 17, 2022 | access-date=March 19, 2022 | archive-date=May 13, 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220513021053/https://www.thenational.scot/news/19097739.adf-international-back-glasgow-priests-covid-court-battle-government/ | url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="disclosure">{{cite web | url=https://www.cnn.com/2021/07/01/politics/california-charitable-contributions-dark-money-supreme-court/index.html | title=Supreme Court invalidates California's donor disclosure requirement | first1=Ariane | last1=de Vogue | first2=Veronica | last2=Stracqualursi | first3=Fredreka | last3=Schouten | date=July 1, 2021 | access-date=July 1, 2021 | publisher=[[CNN]] | archive-date=July 1, 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210701170233/https://www.cnn.com/2021/07/01/politics/california-charitable-contributions-dark-money-supreme-court/index.html | url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="dexter">{{Cite web |url=https://arizonadailyindependent.com/2014/02/16/how-tomorrows-legal-activists-start-the-journey-with-a-trip-to-arizona/ |title=How tomorrow's legal activists start the journey with a trip to Arizona |last=Dexter |first=Duggan |date=February 16, 2014 |website=Arizona Daily Independent |access-date=January 31, 2018 |archive-date=February 14, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180214014550/https://arizonadailyindependent.com/2014/02/16/how-tomorrows-legal-activists-start-the-journey-with-a-trip-to-arizona/ |url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="The Christian Post">{{Cite news |url=https://www.christianpost.com/news/adf-launches-christmas-project-to-protect-right-to-religious-expression-20740/ |title=ADF Launches 'Christmas Project' to Protect Right to Religious Expression |date=November 29, 2004 |work=The Christian Post |access-date=February 14, 2018 |archive-date=February 16, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180216205431/https://www.christianpost.com/news/adf-launches-christmas-project-to-protect-right-to-religious-expression-20740/ |url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="oreilly-donate">{{cite web | url=https://www.mediamatters.org/bill-oreilly/what-alliance-defense-fund-and-why-does-bill-oreilly-advocate-donating-it | title=What is the Alliance Defense Fund, and why does Bill O'Reilly advocate donating to it? | last1=Dimond | first1=Anna | last2=Brown | first2=Joe | date=October 14, 2007 | publisher=Media Matters for America | access-date=March 19, 2022 | archive-date=May 13, 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220513021053/https://www.mediamatters.org/bill-oreilly/what-alliance-defense-fund-and-why-does-bill-oreilly-advocate-donating-it | url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="day-of-stats">[http://www.dayoftruth.org/resources/default.aspx?cid=3560#common5 Day of Truth participation statistics] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080626034511/http://www.dayoftruth.org/resources/default.aspx?cid=3560#common5 |date=June 26, 2008}}, Day of Truth website</ref>
<ref name="BolthouseFoundation">{{Cite web |url=http://www.thebolthousefoundation.org/ |title=The Bolthouse Foundation |date=April 8, 2013 |publisher=The Bolthouse Foundation |access-date=September 24, 2013 |archive-date=April 22, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170422100756/http://www.thebolthousefoundation.org/ |url-status=dead}}</ref>
<ref name="servant-funding">{{Cite web |first=Andrew |last=Perez |date=February 6, 2023 |title=The Far Right Is Funding Evangelical Super Bowl Sunday Ads |url=https://jacobin.com/2023/02/christian-super-bowl-ads-he-gets-us-servant-foundation-abortion-gay-rights |access-date=March 3, 2023 |website=[[Jacobin (magazine)|Jacobin]] |language=en-US |archive-date=March 14, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230314192158/https://jacobin.com/2023/02/christian-super-bowl-ads-he-gets-us-servant-foundation-abortion-gay-rights |url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="media-blitz">{{Cite web |author=Chrissy Stroop |date=March 21, 2022 |title=Behind the Inclusive-Sounding Ads of this $100 Million PR-Blitz-for-Jesus it's the Same Old Conservative Christian Fantasy |url=https://religiondispatches.org/behind-the-inclusive-sounding-ads-of-the-100-million-pr-blitz-for-jesus-its-the-same-old-white-conservative-fantasy/ |access-date=March 6, 2023 |website=Religion Dispatches |language=en-US |archive-date=March 6, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230306221858/https://religiondispatches.org/behind-the-inclusive-sounding-ads-of-the-100-million-pr-blitz-for-jesus-its-the-same-old-white-conservative-fantasy/ |url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="CT-marketing">{{Cite web |first=Maria |last=Baer |date=March 11, 2022 |title=$100M Ad Campaign Aims to Make Jesus the 'Biggest Brand in Your City' |url=https://www.christianitytoday.com/news/2022/march/he-gets-us-ad-campaign-branding-jesus-church-marketing.html |access-date=March 6, 2023 |work=[[Christianity Today]] |language=en-US |archive-date=March 6, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230306003634/https://www.christianitytoday.com/news/2022/march/he-gets-us-ad-campaign-branding-jesus-church-marketing.html |url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="WASHSPEC">{{cite web| first=Sarah| last=Posner| url=http://www.washingtonspectator.com/articles/20070401adf_2.cfm|title=The Legal Muscle Leading the Fight to End the Separation of Church and State|website=[[The Washington Spectator|The Washington Spectator Online]]|date=April 1, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070831010629/http://www.washingtonspectator.com/articles/20070401adf_2.cfm |archive-date=August 31, 2007}}</ref>
<ref name="bolthouse-stmt">{{Cite web |url=http://www.thebolthousefoundation.org/Statement.html |title=Affirmation of Faith |publisher=Bolthouse Foundation |access-date=August 13, 2015 |archive-date=May 30, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170530182336/http://www.thebolthousefoundation.org/Statement.html |url-status=dead}}</ref>
<ref name="abortion-dorries">{{Cite news |last1=Curtis |first1=Polly |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2011/sep/02/abortion-debate-dorries-campaign |title=Abortion debate: Dorries campaign urged to reveal how it is funded |date=September 2, 2011 |access-date=August 13, 2015 |work=[[The Guardian]] |last2=Quinn |first2=Ben |archive-date=January 10, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160110024332/http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2011/sep/02/abortion-debate-dorries-campaign |url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="koch-cmd">{{Cite web|url=https://www.exposedbycmd.org/2021/11/29/koch-spent-nearly-150-million-2020|title=Koch Spent Nearly $150 Million in 2020 to Extend His Influence and Promote His Agenda| last=Armiak| first=David| date=November 29, 2021|publisher=Center for Media and Democracy|access-date=March 22, 2022|archive-date=March 23, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220323071046/https://www.exposedbycmd.org/2021/11/29/koch-spent-nearly-150-million-2020/|url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="vancouver-anti-trans">{{Cite news |first=Rachel |last=Monahan |url=http://www.wweek.com/2016/04/11/a-vancouver-charity-is-funding-a-group-backing-north-carolinas-anti-transgender-bathroom-bill/ |title=A Vancouver Charity is Funding a Group Backing North Carolina's Anti-Transgender "Bathroom Bill" |work=[[Willamette Week]] |date=April 11, 2016 |access-date=April 11, 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160413194622/http://www.wweek.com/2016/04/11/a-vancouver-charity-is-funding-a-group-backing-north-carolinas-anti-transgender-bathroom-bill/ |archive-date=April 13, 2016}}</ref>
<ref name="Pegg">{{Cite news |last=Pegg |first=David |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/mar/28/us-fundamentalists-spent-38m-on-european-politics |title=US fundamentalists spent £38m on European politics |date=March 28, 2019 |work=[[The Guardian]] |access-date=July 26, 2019 |archive-date=July 26, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190726160047/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/mar/28/us-fundamentalists-spent-38m-on-european-politics |url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="christian army">{{cite web | url=https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/5050/christian-legal-army-court-battles-worldwide/ | title=Christian 'legal army' in hundreds of court battles worldwide | last1=Provost | first1=Claire | last2=Milburn | first2=Ella | work=OpenDemocracy | date=December 13, 2017 | access-date=March 21, 2022 | archive-date=March 22, 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220322021627/https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/5050/christian-legal-army-court-battles-worldwide/ | url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="EU-budget2022">{{cite web | url=https://ec.europa.eu/transparencyregister/public/consultation/displaylobbyist.do?id=69403354038-78 | title=Transparency Register | publisher=European Union | date=March 16, 2023 | access-date=August 12, 2023}}</ref>
<ref name="EU-budget2021">{{cite web | url=https://ec.europa.eu/transparencyregister/public/consultation/displaylobbyist.do?id=69403354038-78 | title=Transparency Register | publisher=European Union | date=March 17, 2022 | access-date=March 19, 2022 | archive-date=March 19, 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220319223342/https://ec.europa.eu/transparencyregister/public/consultation/displaylobbyist.do?id=69403354038-78 | url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="war on krishna">{{cite web | url=https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/intelligence-report/2013/last-word-0 | title=''The Last Word'': The War On Krishna: Religious-right activists, fresh from the front lines of the War on Christmas, take on a new and dangerous pagan threat" ''Intelligence Report'' | publisher=Southern Poverty Law Center | last=Nelson | first=Leah | date=Spring 2013 | access-date=July 15, 2017 | archive-date=July 31, 2017 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170731112314/https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/intelligence-report/2013/last-word-0 | url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="nat-review">{{Cite news |last=Farris |first=Michael |url=https://www.nationalreview.com/2018/08/southern-poverty-law-center-hate-label-deserves-vigorous-response/ |title=Southern Poverty Law Center 'Hate' Labels Deserve a Vigorous Response |date=August 17, 2018 |access-date=December 27, 2018 |work=National Review |archive-date=November 16, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181116033319/https://www.nationalreview.com/2018/08/southern-poverty-law-center-hate-label-deserves-vigorous-response/ |url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="tulsa-farris">{{cite web | author=Michael Farris | title=I helped start the Moral Majority, and Trump's the opposite of what we want | website=Tulsa World | date=5 July 2016 | url=https://tulsaworld.com/opinion/columnists/michael-farris-i-helped-start-the-moral-majority-and-trumps-the-opposite-of-what-we/article_17f73eda-7dfb-514c-b52e-f8b73f34ca4b.html | access-date=24 June 2023}}</ref>
<ref name="farris-election">{{Cite news| last1=Lipton| first1=Eric| last2=Walker| first2=Mark| date=2021-10-07| title=Christian Conservative Lawyer Had Secretive Role in Bid to Block Election Result|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/07/us/politics/religious-conservative-michael-farris-lawsuit-2020-election.html|access-date=2021-10-08|archive-url=https://archive.today/20211007221459/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/07/us/politics/religious-conservative-michael-farris-lawsuit-2020-election.html|archive-date=October 7, 2021|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>
<ref name="2022CEO">{{cite web|title=ADF names new president, CEO|url=https://adflegal.org/press-release/adf-names-new-president-ceo |date=August 19, 2022|publisher=Alliance Defending Freedom|access-date=2 October 2022|archive-date=October 4, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221004201805/https://adflegal.org/press-release/adf-names-new-president-ceo|url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="draft-complaint">{{cite web | last=Farris | first=Michael | title=Bill of Complaint, STATE OF A, Plaintiff, v. COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA, STATE OF, STATE OF ARIZONA, STATE OF GEORGIA, STATE OF MICHIGAN, STATE OF MINNESOTA, STATE OF NEVADA, AND STATE OF WISCONSIN | date=2020-11-30 | url=https://int.nyt.com/data/documenttools/2020-11-30-mike-farris/d46c984e22e52cef/full.pdf#page=5 | access-date=2023-08-26}}</ref>
<ref name="eu-filing">{{cite web | publisher=European Court of Human Rights Fifth Section | title=A.P. Garçon Nicot v. France, APPLICATION NOS: 79885/12 52471/13, 52596/13 | date=2015 | url=https://adflegal.blob.core.windows.net/international-content/docs/default-source/default-document-library/legal-documents/europe/ap-v.-france/ap-and-others-v-france---echr-brief.pdf?sfvrsn=10 | access-date=1 November 2023}}</ref>
<ref name="press-name">{{Cite press release |title=Alliance Defense Fund now Alliance Defending Freedom |date=July 9, 2012 |publisher=Alliance Defending Freedom |url=http://www.adfmedia.org/News/PRDetail/7504 |access-date=July 30, 2012 |archive-date=February 2, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170202025856/http://www.adfmedia.org/News/PRDetail/7504 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
<ref name="eckholm">{{Cite news |last=Eckholm | first=Eric | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/12/us/legal-alliance-gains-host-of-court-victories-for-conservative-christian-movement.html |title=Legal Alliance Gains Host of Court Victories for Conservative Christian Movement |date=May 11, 2014 |work=The New York Times |access-date=January 21, 2018 |quote=Alliance Defending Freedom, which, with its $40 million annual budget, 40-plus staff lawyers and hundreds of affiliated lawyers, has emerged as the largest legal force of the religious right, arguing hundreds of pro bono cases across the country. |archive-date=January 22, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180122181752/https://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/12/us/legal-alliance-gains-host-of-court-victories-for-conservative-christian-movement.html |url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="McFeely">McFeely, Tom (January&nbsp;18, 2012). "[http://m.ncregister.com/daily-news/alliance-defense-funds-chief-convert#.WeI8BIUpDYV Alliance Defense Fund's Chief Convert] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171014233751/http://m.ncregister.com/daily-news/alliance-defense-funds-chief-convert#.WeI8BIUpDYV |date=October 14, 2017}}" [interview with Alan Sears]. ''[[National Catholic Register]]''. ncregister.com. Retrieved October 14, 2017. Referring to Ron Rosenberger and his volunteer lawyer, Alan Sears explains that ADF "raised money, and&nbsp;... funded the petition for certiorari that asked the [[United States Supreme Court]] to hear their case" and that later it "funded the costs of the case and a number of amicus briefs."</ref>
<ref name="aclu-agenda">{{cite book |title=The ACLU vs. America: Exposing the Agenda to Redefine Moral Values |last=Sears |first=Alan |author2=Craig Osten |year=2005 |publisher=B&H Books |isbn=978-0-8054-4045-4 | quote=As a result of the work of the American Civil Liberties Union and their war on America, we now live in a country where the church has been progressively silenced, parental authority has been undermined, children are less safe, and human life continues to be cheapened-both at birth and death. ... But there is hope. Many Americans are waking up to the dangerous agenda of the ACLU.}}</ref>
<ref name="founders">{{cite web |last1=Sears |first1=Alan |title=With Gratitude, for the Giants Whose Shoulders ADF Stands On |url=https://adflegal.org/blog/gratitude-giants-whose-shoulders-adf-stands |publisher=Alliance Defending Freedom |access-date=July 16, 2022 |language=en |date=October 17, 2017 |archive-date=March 21, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230321190757/https://adflegal.org/search?search_term=gratitude+giants+whose+shoulders+adf+stands&f&#91;0&#93;=content_type:article |url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="farris-barrett">{{cite news | last=Holden | first=Emily | title=Leader of non-profit labeled 'hate group' attended White House Amy Coney Barrett event | date=October 5, 2020 | work=The Guardian | url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/oct/05/michael-farris-amy-coney-barrett-adf | access-date=July 24, 2022 | archive-date=July 24, 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220724203757/https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/oct/05/michael-farris-amy-coney-barrett-adf | url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="declaw">{{cite web | last=Brunson | first=Samuel | title=Congress could declaw restrictions on politicking from the pulpit — over the objections of many churches | date=July 30, 2018 | url=https://theconversation.com/congress-could-declaw-restrictions-on-politicking-from-the-pulpit-over-the-objections-of-many-churches-100575 | work=The Conversation | access-date=July 24, 2022 | archive-date=July 24, 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220724214304/https://theconversation.com/congress-could-declaw-restrictions-on-politicking-from-the-pulpit-over-the-objections-of-many-churches-100575 | url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="vile-johnson">{{cite encyclopedia | last=Vile | first=John | title=Johnson Amendment | encyclopedia=First Amendment Encyclopedia | publisher=Middle Tennessee State University | date=January 10, 2020 | url=https://mtsu.edu/first-amendment/article/1744/johnson-amendment | access-date=July 24, 2022 | archive-date=July 24, 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220724214306/https://mtsu.edu/first-amendment/article/1744/johnson-amendment | url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="exemption">{{cite web | last=Posner | first=Sarah | title=South Carolina Sought an Exemption to Allow a Foster-Care Agency to Discriminate Against Non-Christians | work=The Nation | date=June 15, 2018 | url=https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/south-carolina-sought-exemption-allow-foster-care-agency-discriminate-non-christians/ | access-date=July 24, 2022 | archive-date=June 11, 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220611235432/https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/south-carolina-sought-exemption-allow-foster-care-agency-discriminate-non-christians/ | url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="miracle-hill-adl">{{cite news | title=Religious freedom or discrimination? Anti-Defamation League fights Miracle Hill request | last=Smith | first=Tim | date=October 23, 2018 | url=https://www.greenvilleonline.com/story/news/local/south-carolina/2018/10/23/anti-defamation-league-seeks-denial-governors-miracle-hill-request-religious-freedom-discrimination/1740414002/ | access-date=March 19, 2022 | archive-date=March 21, 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230321190814/https://www.greenvilleonline.com/story/news/local/south-carolina/2018/10/23/anti-defamation-league-seeks-denial-governors-miracle-hill-request-religious-freedom-discrimination/1740414002/ | url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="barred">{{cite web | title=I Was Barred From Becoming a Foster Parent Because I Am Jewish | last=Currie | first=Lydia | date=February 7, 2019 | url=http://www.5tjt.com/i-was-barred-from-becoming-a-foster-parent-because-i-am-jewish/ | access-date=March 20, 2022 | archive-date=May 13, 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220513021053/http://www.5tjt.com/i-was-barred-from-becoming-a-foster-parent-because-i-am-jewish/ | url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="catholic-accepted">{{cite web | last=Schiffer | first=Kathy | title=Miracle Hill Ministries Changes Rule, Accepts Catholic Foster Parents | date=July 24, 2019 | work=National Catholic Register | url=https://www.ncregister.com/blog/miracle-hill-ministries-changes-rule-accepts-catholic-foster-parents | access-date=July 24, 2022 | archive-date=July 24, 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220724234051/https://www.ncregister.com/blog/miracle-hill-ministries-changes-rule-accepts-catholic-foster-parents | url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="davis-gvonline">{{cite news | last=Davis | first=Angelia | title=Miracle Hill gets religious exemption to provide foster care in SC despite complaints | date=January 23, 2019 | work=The Greenville News | url=https://www.greenvilleonline.com/story/news/2019/01/23/miracle-hill-religious-protections-greenville-sc/2647848002/ | access-date=July 24, 2022 | archive-date=March 21, 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230321190813/https://www.greenvilleonline.com/story/news/2019/01/23/miracle-hill-religious-protections-greenville-sc/2647848002/ | url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="miracle-hill-foster">{{cite news | last=Richardson | first=Valerie | title=Miracle Hill Ministries foster care targeted in religious-freedom fight | date=January 28, 2019 | work=The Washington Times | access-date=May 19, 2022 | url=https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2019/jan/28/miracle-hill-ministries-foster-care-targeted-relig/ | archive-date=May 19, 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220519041607/https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2019/jan/28/miracle-hill-ministries-foster-care-targeted-relig/ | url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="guardian-TN">{{cite news | last=Yang | first=Maya | title=Tennessee Jewish couple sues state after Christian adoption agency denies them services | work=The Guardian | date=January 22, 2022 | url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/jan/22/tennessee-jewish-couple-sues-state-christian-adoption-agency-denies-them-services | access-date=July 24, 2022 | archive-date=July 24, 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220724234630/https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/jan/22/tennessee-jewish-couple-sues-state-christian-adoption-agency-denies-them-services | url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="TN-adopt">{{cite web|last=Whetstone|first=Tyler|title=Tennessee-based adoption agency refuses to help couple because they're Jewish|url=https://www.knoxnews.com/story/news/politics/2022/01/20/holston-united-methodist-home-for-children-adoption-tennessee-refused-family-jewish/6582864001/|access-date=January 28, 2022|website=Knoxville News Sentinel|language=en-US|archive-date=January 27, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220127210255/https://www.knoxnews.com/story/news/politics/2022/01/20/holston-united-methodist-home-for-children-adoption-tennessee-refused-family-jewish/6582864001/|url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="TN-nyt">{{Cite news|last=Hauser|first=Christine|date=January 22, 2022|title=Tennessee Couple Says Adoption Agency Turned Them Away for Being Jewish|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/22/us/tennessee-jewish-couple-adoption.html|access-date=January 28, 2022|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=January 28, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220128051935/https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/22/us/tennessee-jewish-couple-adoption.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="tn-apnews">{{cite web|date=January 21, 2022|title=Lawsuit: Tennessee adoption agency turned away Jewish couple|url=https://apnews.com/article/greeneville-tennessee-knoxville-religion-adoption-9af6f368678f48f01ab067e222782866|access-date=January 28, 2022|publisher=Associated Press|language=en|archive-date=January 28, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220128051939/https://apnews.com/article/greeneville-tennessee-knoxville-religion-adoption-9af6f368678f48f01ab067e222782866|url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="mattise-dismiss">{{cite news | title=Judges dismiss Jewish couple's suit alleging adoption bias | last=Mattise | first=Jonathan | date=July 5, 2022 | url=https://apnews.com/article/religion-lawsuits-tennessee-nashville-58900a55eb9344d4a51143325fa609c3 | access-date=July 24, 2022 | archive-date=July 24, 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220724235950/https://apnews.com/article/religion-lawsuits-tennessee-nashville-58900a55eb9344d4a51143325fa609c3 | url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="AU">{{cite web | title=Rutan-Ram v. Tennessee Department of Children's Services | date=July 21, 2022 | url=https://www.au.org/how-we-protect-religious-freedom/legal-cases/cases/rutan-ram-v-tennessee-department-of-childrens-services/ | access-date=July 24, 2022 | archive-date=July 24, 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220724235620/https://www.au.org/how-we-protect-religious-freedom/legal-cases/cases/rutan-ram-v-tennessee-department-of-childrens-services/ | url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="splc-profile">{{cite web|url=https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/group/alliance-defending-freedom|title=Alliance Defending Freedom|publisher=Southern Poverty Law Center|language=en|access-date=June 29, 2021|archive-date=August 29, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170829041141/https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/group/alliance-defending-freedom|url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="erin-hawley-fedsoc">{{cite web | title=Erin M. Hawley - Senior Counsel, Alliance Defending Freedom | date=September 2022 | publisher=Federalist Society | url=https://fedsoc.org/contributors/erin-hawley-1 | access-date=September 30, 2022 | archive-date=September 30, 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220930155408/https://fedsoc.org/contributors/erin-hawley-1 | url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="ross">{{Cite news |last=Ross |first=Janell |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/06/01/who-exactly-is-david-french-the-never-trump-white-knight-candidate/ |title=Who, exactly, is David French, the 'Never Trump' white knight candidate? |date=June 1, 2016 |access-date=February 2, 2018 |newspaper=The Washington Post |archive-date=January 18, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170118043315/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/06/01/who-exactly-is-david-french-the-never-trump-white-knight-candidate/ |url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="vandyke">{{cite web | title=Questionnaire for Judicial Nominees - Lawrence VanDyke | publisher=U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee | url=https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/download/vandyke-responses-to-questions-for-the-record&download=1 | date= | access-date=29 June 2023}}</ref>
}}

== Further reading ==
{{wikinews|US pastors plan to defy law and endorse candidates}}
* {{Cite book |last=Budziszewski |first=J. |title=Natural Law For Lawyers |publisher=ACW Press and The Blackstone Legal Fellowship |year=2006 |isbn=978-1932124798}}
*{{Cite journal |last=Jones |first=Emma |date=June 2016 |title=Fair Access Versus Religious Freedom: A Difficult Balance |journal=Oxford Journal of Law and Religion |volume=5 |issue=2 |pages=359–364 |doi=10.1093/ojlr/rww018}}

==External links==
* {{Official website}}
* [https://adfinternational.org/ ADF International official website]
* {{ProPublicaNonprofitExplorer|541660459}}

{{Alliance Defending Freedom}}
{{American social conservatism}}

[[Category:Alliance Defending Freedom| ]]
[[Category:1993 establishments in Arizona]]
[[Category:Conservative organizations in the United States]]
[[Category:American Christian political organizations]]
[[Category:Anti-abortion organizations in the United States]]
[[Category:Legal advocacy organizations in the United States]]
[[Category:Non-profit organizations based in Arizona]]
[[Category:Political organizations established in 1993]]
[[Category:Organizations that oppose LGBTQ rights in the United States]]
[[Category:Organizations that oppose transgender rights in the United States]]
[[Category:Anti-gender movement]]
[[Category:Scottsdale, Arizona]]