Editing Alliance Defending Freedom (section)

==History and structure==
===Founding===
{{multiple image
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| 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]]
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| caption3          = [[D. James Kennedy]]
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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" />