ALLIANCE DEFENSE FUND
"Without Me you can do nothing" (John 15:5). The Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) tries to do something to hold back the tide of political and legal decisions that threaten to deprive religious Americans of their right to worship and live according to their beliefs. ADF is one of the many legal foundations that have sprung up to defend conservative legal principles against the onslaught by leftists in legislatures, on the bench, and in bureaucracies.
ADF distinguishes itself from the pack in two ways, said Alan Sears, ADF president and legal counsel. "There are probably two distinctions. First of all, we are a religious organization, and that makes a difference from some of the libertarian organizations," he said. "Secondly, we consider overall strategy."
ADF began operating in January 1994 and focuses on strategy, training, and funding, Sears said. "We have been responsible for recruiting and bringing into the movement lots of different attorneys," said Sears. "There have been 551 lawyers trained by us. We recruit people who share our common values and we bring them in for a week. We call it our national litigation academy. We ask for pro bono work in payment."
ADF’s Blackstone Fellowship is "our law student program," said Sears. "We get them between the first and second year. Then we put them out with allied groups for the summer."
In addition, "one of our key missions is to raise money for our allied groups and volunteer attorneys," he said. "We also have a small legal staff of our own that is involved mostly in mentoring."
Asked if he thought the climate for religious freedom was improving or darkening in the United States, Sears replied, "Mixed answer. In some areas, we have had dramatic success, such as in equal access." More and more courts have ruled, he said, that public institutions must grant access to religious groups if they allow access for secular groups.
For example, Sears reported on ADF’s website about what the recent 7th Circuit Court of Appeals decision in Southworth v. University of Wisconsin meant: "Student government members must vow not to discriminate on the basis of viewpoint in their decision-making. The ban on funding religious groups and political groups has been repealed. . . . The key point is that if the university does not follow these guidelines imposed by the court, students cannot be required to pay the mandatory student activity fee."
ADF won another case in which a public educational institution was denying equal access. In the New York public schools, said Sears, "they said you could have your Bible club but you have to adhere to our non-discrimination policy, yet your charter says the head of your organization must be a believing Christian."
ADF’s website includes a list of the dozen cases that the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) "used to steer America away from its Christian foundations," beginning with Everson v. Board of Education (1947): "The United States Supreme Court rules that the 1st Amendment requires neutrality towards religion and erects a ‘high and impregnable. . .wall of separation between church and state.’"
"The right to freely exercise one’s faith has never been more threatened than it is today," says ADF. "And the rights of Christians are especially vulnerable. For more than 50 years, the ACLU and other activist groups have attempted to eliminate all public expression of Christianity."
ADF was founded by a group of leaders including Dr. James Dobson, Dr. Bill Bright, and Larry Burkett. Sears, a former federal prosecutor, "has spoken before committees of the British Parliament and the Vatican, as well as training hundreds of law enforcement officials from Australia to Scotland Yard," says ADF. "He has appeared on more than 1,000 radio and television programs, including ABC’s ‘20/20’ and ‘Nightline,’ NBC’s ‘Today,’ and media outlets such as CNN, PBS, and CBS News."
ADF has been active in opposing the agenda of the activist homosexual movement, which along with its media allies has become increasingly shrill in its insistence that no one dissent from its orthodoxy. "The demand is that we rewrite the marriage code, redefine the family, and anyone who opposes it is subject to punishment," said Sears. "With regard to homosexual activism, the pretense of tolerance is over." ADF has achieved success in getting state courts in Minnesota, Virginia, and Pennsylvania to overturn municipalities’ same-sex benefits laws.
Sears hopes for more victories in the near future. "I am very pleased with most of the men and women that President Bush has selected to nominate to courts," he said.
ADF may be reached at 15333 North Pima Rd., Suite 165, Scottsdale, Ariz. 85260 (800-835-5233; fax: 480-444-0025; e-mail: [email protected]; website: www.alliancedefensefund.org).
