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Alliance Defending Freedom

Alliance Defending Freedom
AbbreviationADF
FormationMarch 25, 1993 (1993-03-25)[1]
TypeNon-profit organization
54-1660459
HeadquartersScottsdale, Arizona[2]
Terry Schlossberg[3]
Kristen Waggoner[4]
Revenue (2022)
$104,490,113[5]
Expenses (2022)$81,311,475[5]
Endowment (2022)$20,295,829[5]
Employees (2022)
395[5]
Volunteers (2022)
1,351[5]
Websitewww.adflegal.org Edit this at Wikidata
Formerly called
Alliance Defense Fund

The Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), formerly the Alliance Defense Fund, is an American conservative Christian legal advocacy group[6] that works to oppose what it sees as threats to conservative's religious liberty, expand Christian practices within public schools and in government,[7][8] outlaw abortion,[9][10] and curtail LGBTQ rights.[11] In 2014, ADF literature described part of its mission as "[seeking] to recover the robust Christendomic theology of the 3rd, 4th, and 5th centuries."[12][13][14] ADF is headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona, with branch offices in several locations including Washington, D.C., and New York.[15] Its international subsidiary, Alliance Defending Freedom International, with headquarters in Vienna, Austria,[16] operates in over 100 countries.[17]

ADF is one of the most organized and influential Christian legal interest groups in the United States[18] based on its budget, caseload, network of allied attorneys, and connections to significant members of the political right.[19][20][21] Mike Johnson, a former ADF attorney,[22][23] was elected Speaker of the House of Representatives on October 25, 2023.[24][25] Others who have been associated with ADF include U.S. Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett,[19][26] former vice president Mike Pence,[27] former attorneys general William Barr[28] and Jeff Sessions,[20][29] and Senator Josh Hawley.[30][31]

ADF attorneys have argued a number of cases before the Supreme Court, taking positions including support for religious activity in public school and Christian prayer at town meetings, narrowing insurance coverage for contraceptives, prohibiting same-sex marriage, and supporting businesses in the wedding industry that refuse to service gay marriages.[32] 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.[33]

The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) designates ADF as an anti-LGBT hate group, saying in 2017 that since the election of President Donald Trump ADF had become "one of the most influential groups informing the [Trump] administration's attack on LGBTQ rights."[11][34] The ADF has taken many anti-LGBT positions: it opposes same-sex marriage, decriminalization of same-sex sexual activity, and anti-discrimination laws, and takes an active role in writing model anti-transgender bills for state legislators.[11][35][36]

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  5. ^ a b c d e "IRS Form 990: Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax" (PDF). ADF Legal. Retrieved June 18, 2023.
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  12. ^ O'Malley, Nick (January 25, 2016). "Inside the Alliance Defending Freedom, the 'gay-hate' group hosting Tony Abbott". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved January 19, 2024.
  13. ^ Montini, E. J. "Montini: Business wants to use religion to discriminate against same-sex couples". The Arizona Republic. Retrieved January 19, 2024.
  14. ^ Stewart, Katherine; Shephard, Alex; Shephard, Alex; McCrary, Charles; Ribovich, Leslie; McCrary, Charles; Ribovich, Leslie; Ford, Matt; Ford, Matt (July 11, 2022). "How Leonard Leo Became the Power Broker of the American Right". The New Republic. ISSN 0028-6583. Retrieved January 19, 2024.
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  34. ^ Belanger, Ashley (April 27, 2023). "WebOps platform Pantheon defends hosting "hate groups" as developers quit". Ars Technica. Retrieved February 2, 2024.
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