 |
This article has been nominated to be checked for its neutrality. Discussion of this nomination can be found on the talk page. (December 2007) |
 |
This article needs references that appear in reliable third-party publications. Primary sources or sources affiliated with the subject are generally not sufficient for a Wikipedia article. Please add more appropriate citations from reliable sources. (December 2007) |
The Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) is a conservative Christian nonprofit organization with the stated goal of "defending the right to hear and speak the Truth through strategy, training, funding, and litigation."[1] ADF was launched in 1994 by the late Bill Bright (founder, Campus Crusade for Christ), the late Larry Burkett (founder, Crown Financial Ministries), James Dobson (founder, Focus on the Family), the late D. James Kennedy (founder, Coral Ridge Ministries), the late Marlin Maddoux (president, International Christian Media), and Donald Wildmon (founder, American Family Association), along with the leadership of over thirty other conservative Christian organizations.[2][3]
ADF supports the inclusion of invocations at public meetings and the use of religious displays (such as crosses and other religious monuments) on public lands and in public buildings.[4] The ADF opposes abortion, and believes that healthcare workers have a right to decline participation in the performance of abortions and other practices an individual health worker finds morally objectionable. ADF opposes same-sex marriage, as well as adoption by same-sex couples based on their belief that children are best raised by a married mother and father. ADF believe parents should be able to opt their children out of sex education in schools that run counter to a family's religious beliefs.[4]
ADF states that it has "had various roles of significance" in thirty-three wins before the United States Supreme Court, including such cases as Rosenberger v. University of Virginia, Schenck v. Pro-Choice Network of Western New York, Boy Scouts of America v. Dale, and Good News Club v. Milford Central School.[5]
Contents |
Organization
ADF's President, CEO, and General Counsel is Alan Sears. Sears was previously a Justice Department official under the administration of President Ronald Reagan, and has co-authored two books with Craig Osten: The Homosexual Agenda: Exposing the Principal Threat to Religious Freedom Today, and The ACLU vs. America: Exposing the Agenda to Redefine Moral Values.
It receives funding from the Bill and Berniece Grewcock Foundation, Richard and Helen DeVos Foundation, and Bradley Foundation.[3]
The ADF is based in Scottsdale, Arizona. It has six branch offices, located in Sacramento, California; Lawrenceville, Georgia; Shreveport, Louisiana; Memphis, Tennessee; Washington, DC, and Olathe, Kansas. In addition, the ADF Center for Academic Freedom is located in Nashville, Tennessee.[6]
Programs
ADF’s National Litigation Academy[7] and Blackstone Legal Fellowship[8] are aimed at training lawyers to pursue cases from a socially conservative perspective which they believe is based on Christian ideals.
According to ADF, the National Litigation Academy brings together law school professionals, litigators, and constitutional lawyers for courses of study. Volunteer and allied attorneys are offered training in areas of law that relate to religious freedom, same-sex marriage, and pro-life issues. The training is provided at no charge, but each attorney pledges to spend 450 hours of pro bono time furthering ADF's mission by representing Christian organizations and individuals.[9][10] ADF states that more than 1,200 attorneys have attended the National Litigation Academy with pro-bono service totaling more than $82 million to date.[11]
The Blackstone Legal Fellowship is a nine-week summer internship program designed for Christian law students.[12] Interns work closely with legal professionals and advocate a Conservative Christian worldview. According to ADF, the goal of the Blackstone Legal Fellowship is "to train a new generation of lawyers who will rise to positions of influence and leadership as legal scholars, litigators, judges, and perhaps even Supreme Court justices, and who will work to ensure that justice is carried out in America's courtrooms."[13] More specifically, ADF states that the Blackstone Legal Fellowship purposes to "[e]quip Christian law students to engage the legal culture with biblical and natural law principles," to "[g]ive law students confidence that the foundation of law on which our country was established is rationally superior to any competing legal philosophy," and to "[p]rofoundly influence Christian law students to take their training and knowledge into positions of influence where they can bring about needed change in America’s legal system."[14]
Litigation
 |
This section requires expansion. |
The Alliance Defense Fund, working with other socially conservative organizations and Christian groups, as well as allied litigators, litigates cases involving religious freedom, human life issues, and same-sex marriage.[15]
ADF has also had an internal networking program. ADF’s senior attorneys help the new attorneys with their first court cases. The "apprenticeship" approach prepares the new attorneys to work in the rarefied world of First Amendment law.[citation needed]
'Day of Truth'
The Alliance Defense Fund states that it established the Day of Truth[16] "to counter the promotion of the homosexual agenda and express an opposing viewpoint from a Christian perspective."[17] The Day of Truth is held annually following the Day of Silence, which is organized by the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN).[citation needed] ADF's web site regarding the Day of Truth states that the Day of Truth gives students "an opportunity to speak the Truth in love and have an honest conversation about homosexuality . . . . Participating students are encouraged to wear T-shirts and pass out cards with the following message: I'm speaking the Truth to break the silence. True tolerance means that people with differing—even opposing—viewpoints can freely exchange ideas and respectfully listen to each other. It's time for an honest conversation about homosexuality. There's freedom to change if you want to. Let’s talk."[18][19] ADF claims that students who have attempted to speak against same-sex relationships and behavior have been censored or, in some cases, punished for their actions under campus hate-speech rules.[20]
The Day of Truth was first organized in 2005. According to ADF, over 1,100 students in 350 schools participated in the first Day of Truth.[21]
The second Day of Truth was held on April 27, 2006, and, according to ADF, nearly 3,000 students from more than 800 schools participated, according to ADF statistics. In February, ADF alleged that various unnamed bloggers opposed to the Day of Truth had attempted to undermine the event by swamping the Day of Truth web site with requests for brochures.[22]
According to ADF, more than 7,000 students participated in the third Day of Truth, which was held on April 19, 2007.[23] These numbers are not independently corroborated.[citation needed]
In one of several Day of Truth-related legal actions, ADF filed a federal lawsuit in 2006 on behalf of a student who they claim was prevented by his school from participating in the event, despite allowing the Day of Silence.[20][24] ADF reached a settlement with the student's North Carolina high school in 2007, allowing the student to participate in Day of Truth. [25]
ADF has been criticized for organizing and promoting the Day of Truth; Kevin Jennings of the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) has described the event as "a publicity stunt cooked up by a conservative organization with a political agenda; it’s an effort by adults to manipulate some kids." [26] In response, Mike Johnson of ADF contends that “We wouldn’t have come up with the Day of Truth if Christian kids hadn’t been silenced in the first place. . . . The public school is part of the free market of ideas — if the other side is going to advance their point of view, it’s only fair for the Christian perspective to present their view, too."[27]
ADF has announced that beginning in 2009, it is passing on its leadership role in the Day of Truth to Exodus International.[28]
Links to Ex-Gay Organizations
The Alliance Defense Fund has many connections with Christian ex-gay organizations that claim that LGBT persons can change to heterosexuality through prayer, intervention and psychological counseling.[citation needed]
Resources for the group’s Day of Truth event were prepared by Exodus International, another ex-gay organization.[29]
ADF also represented the Christian ex-gay ministry Love in Action in a suit filed against the State of Tennessee. Love in Action sued the State of Tennessee, alleging religious discrimination, after the state Department of Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities ruled that Love in Action was operating illegally and needed a state license[4] in order to offer mental health care and services including drug and alcohol addiction treatment.[30] The lawsuit was settled out of court.[1]
Controversy
|
This section requires expansion. |
Williams v. Vidmar
In November 2004, the ADF filed a lawsuit (Williams v. Vidmar) on behalf of a Cupertino, California elementary school teacher against his school principal and school board members.[31] The ADF issued a press release regarding the lawsuit which some sources say was entitled "Declaration of Independence Banned from Classroom",[32] while the ADF contended that the actual title was "Oh, the horror! California teacher provides students with historical American documents," with the other title appearing only on the ADF website.[33] The ADF defended the accuracy of its press release, despite claims that it contained errors.[33] In August 2005, the lawsuit was settled.[34] An organization of parents within the school district expressed unhappiness with the lawsuit and the role of the ADF in it.[35]
Financial donors
Major donors for the organization include the Bolthouse Foundation [36] and the Edgar and Elsa Prince Foundation, whose vice president is Erik Prince.[37]
References
- ^ Defending our First Liberty, Pg. 3, Retrieved June 2, 2007, Alliance Defense Fund
- ^ History, Alliance Defense Fund
- ^ a b People For the American Way - Alliance Defense Fund
- ^ a b c Media Matters - What is the Alliance Defense Fund, and why does Bill O'Reilly advocate donating to it?
- ^ Supreme Court Victories, Alliance Defense Fund
- ^ ADF Center for Academic Freedom - Faith has a Voice
- ^ National Litigation Academy, Alliance Defense Fund
- ^ Blackstone Legal Fellowship, Alliance Defense Fund
- ^ http://www.nla.org/ADF%20News/National%20Litigation%20Academy%20Information%20Sheet.pdf
- ^ http://www.alliancedefensefund.org/whatwedo/training/default.aspx?cid=3151
- ^ http://www.alliancedefensefund.org/whatwedo/training/default.aspx?cid=3151
- ^ https://blackstone.alliancedefensefund.org/
- ^ http://www.alliancedefensefund.org/whatwedo/training/Blackstone.aspx
- ^ http://www.alliancedefensefund.org/whatwedo/training/Blackstone.aspx
- ^ Issues, Alliance Defense Fund
- ^ Day of Truth Web site
- ^ http://www.dayoftruth.org/about/default.aspx
- ^ http://www.dayoftruth.org/about/default.aspx
- ^ http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=48869
- ^ a b ADF attorneys seek justice for high school student silenced on Day of Truth, Alliance Defense Fund
- ^ Day of Truth participation statistics, Day of Truth website
- ^ Breaking the silence: Day of Truth message undeterred by activist's intolerance, Alliance Defense Fund
- ^ Settlement allows NJ high school students to acknowledge Day of Truth
- ^ ADF report on Arthurs v. Sampson County Board of Education, Alliance Defense Fund
- ^ Victory for student First Amendment rights and religious speech at N.C. school, Alliance Defense Fund
- ^ http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7477978/
- ^ http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7477978/
- ^ http://www.dayoftruth.org/docs/2009email.html
- ^ Homosexuality FAQ Sheet, Day of Truth website
- ^ Tenn. opens new probe of "ex-gay" facility - Washington Blade
- ^ Second Amended Complaint, Williams v. Vidmar et al., Alliance Defense Fund
- ^ FOX peddles false report that California school 'banned Declaration of Independence because it mentions God', www.mediamatters.org
- ^ a b The facts regarding Williams v. Vidmar, retrieved April 11, 2007, Alliance Defense Fund
- ^ Settlement: Historical American documents can be taught in Cupertino schools, Alliance Defense Fund
- ^ We, the Parents, Press Release 4 at the Internet Archive
- ^ The Bolthouse Foundation
- ^ Posner, Sarah. "The Legal Muscle Leading the Fight to End the Separation of Church and State" April 1, 2007, Washington Spectator Online
See also
- Focus on the Family
- Boy Scouts of America v. Dale
- Good News Club v. Milford Central School
- Schenck v. Pro-Choice Network of Western New York
External links
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
