https://politicalresearch.org/ The latest research related to Alliance Defending Freedom en https://politicalresearch.org/2025/02/12/stacking-courts-against-mifepristone Conservative groups are reshaping judicial outcomes in their favor using forum shopping and dark money, as seen in the Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine v. FDA case on access to the abortion pill mifepristone. Wed, 12 Feb 2025 11:05:41 EST Zane McNeill 1f4222f3-61af-4618-b6cb-e1cb3b37b95a https://religiondispatches.org/2023/01/25/what-about-parents-new-york-times-falls-anti-trans-parents-rights-trap What do you call parents who side with the ADF, a right-wing legal advocacy group, against their own transgender teens? “Bigots” would be one valid response. So of course The New York Times recently published an article deeply sympathetic to… Wed, 25 Jan 2023 01:27:18 EST Chrissy Stroop 3b2fbcc7-784f-4e19-996b-b8edb2120c2f https://religiondispatches.org/2023/01/17/key-understanding-federalist-society-isnt-originalism-its-800-year-old-tradition In the amicus brief he submitted to the Supreme Court on behalf of the state of Mississippi in the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health case that overturned Roe v. Wade , John Eastman of the Claremont Institute anchored a “foundational… Tue, 17 Jan 2023 05:15:13 EST Peter Schwartz 1a5a6f37-1de4-45e6-a3bc-fc71f49990de https://religiondispatches.org/2022/12/08/303-creative-not-religion-v-gay-rights-case-heres-why-christian-right-happy-media On Tuesday, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in 303 Creative v. Elenis , the latest case to pit the Christian Right against LGBTQ people. Or is it? “Supreme Court Will Hear Latest Clash Between Faith and Gay Rights.” “Masterpiece… Thu, 08 Dec 2022 11:48:35 EST Heron Greenesmith 79d89063-59ea-4d81-80f3-93d9ac77a8e8 https://religiondispatches.org/2022/09/15/its-time-defend-our-children-outside-womb-pray-vote-stand-connects-anti-abortion-and The following is part of RD and PRA’s special coverage of the Pray Vote Stand Summit. All posts can be found here. - eds 9/15/2022 Morning First Baptist Atlanta is huge—a sprawling campus of parking lots and Grecian-revival entrances to… Thu, 15 Sep 2022 12:53:27 EDT PRA Staff a5b571ea-dfb9-46ec-b9cf-7a3cbe2b8ae7 https://religiondispatches.org/2022/05/11/dont-buy-alitos-assurances-heres-what-happens-next-after-roe-falls The leaked first draft of Associate Justice Samuel Alito’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson has sent shockwaves throughout the American psyche. This is a stunning reversal of women’s rights that have been in place for half a century . It… Wed, 11 May 2022 03:34:55 EDT Brynn Tannehill 8f88195d-cde9-4218-bc3a-552870401275 https://religiondispatches.org/2022/04/08/most-forgotten-queer-folks-us-are-fighting-back-against-powerful-and-publicly-funded “How do we get people to view the CCCU as an extremist organization, the same way they view ADF?” It’s a great question that Paul Southwick, a gay attorney and the director of the Religious Exemption Accountability Project (REAP), put… Fri, 08 Apr 2022 01:51:59 EDT Chrissy Stroop 9e8b48cf-43dc-4f8d-9267-ac9b9c4d7ea3 https://religiondispatches.org/2022/03/21/behind-inclusive-sounding-ads-100-million-pr-blitz-jesus-its-same-old-conservative This month, a $100 million advertising campaign and website have been launched nationwide to help a particular figure rebrand. In the current climate, just who, do you think, might warrant such a massive PR blitz? My own answer would be… Mon, 21 Mar 2022 04:50:51 EDT Chrissy Stroop 26a7f825-7909-4f1c-b371-e32c3ed84988 https://religiondispatches.org/2021/12/13/unintended-consequences-overturning-roe-v-wade-may-endanger-cherished-evangelical “The strongest precedent for a right to teach a child at home is Roe v. Wade .” - Former HSLDA attorney Scott W. Somerville As the Supreme Court considers Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization , a case that could… Mon, 13 Dec 2021 12:24:32 EST R.L. Stollar 928ebfa4-f138-47bc-b043-b334e328f75e https://religiondispatches.org/2021/07/12/exclusive-christian-right-bill-mill-project-blitz-hasnt-gone-away-its-just-gotten-more In the Fall of 2019, the secretive Christian Right state legislative campaign, Project Blitz, became even more of a secret. When RD first reported on Project Blitz in April 2018 the website featured their annual state legislative playbook of model… Mon, 12 Jul 2021 04:39:07 EDT Frederick Clarkson 6c54e30d-1e42-45b1-bdd3-9e471c13c6dd https://religiondispatches.org/2021/05/20/first-roe-then-contraception-unless-action-taken-supreme-court-about-strike-down Sixteen days before Ruth Bader Ginsburg died, the Supreme Court scheduled a conference on a case that could end the reproductive freedom of 170 million American women. Ginsburg died on Sept. 19, 2020, and the conference, set for Sept. 29… Thu, 20 May 2021 12:59:34 EDT Andrew L. Seidel 37c17d42-2690-4b2e-a762-6b0883e79b83 https://religiondispatches.org/2020/09/29/can-democrats-question-amy-coney-barretts-faith-yes-should-they-well Let’s cut right to the paper chase, as it were. Amy Coney Barrett’s faith is potentially problematic, and ought to be subject to the same kind of critique as any other belief, sacred or secular. Whether or not critics of… Tue, 29 Sep 2020 11:32:35 EDT Daniel Schultz c0dd77a4-0c26-4223-8230-de1956f06aba https://religiondispatches.org/2020/04/21/will-pandemic-hasten-decline-christianity-or-it-americas-best-hope-religious-revival On April 2, BuzzFeed’s Ryan Broderick published some sober reflections on how our world might be changed after we get through the COVID-19 pandemic. While there’s no way to predict the future with any precision, it seems certain that post-coronavirus… Tue, 21 Apr 2020 01:04:29 EDT Chrissy Stroop eb461c5f-1d25-40d1-b279-ec761a9fcc9f https://religiondispatches.org/2019/09/11/refusal-interracial-couple-shows-how-slippery-slope-lgbtq-refusal-really After the owner of a wedding hall was caught on tape refusing an interracial couple “because of our Christian race,” questions are resurfacing about the possibility that anti-LGBTQ “religious exemptions” might be paving the way for legalized racial discrimination. Wed, 11 Sep 2019 12:30:02 EDT Heron Greenesmith 21bc0b04-fbe4-41f3-b2f7-7a6e5b8e36eb https://religiondispatches.org/2019/08/28/religious-motto-isnt-religious-how-god-we-trust-remains-constitutional-part-2 It turns out that Christian activists are perfectly willing to let federal judges desecrate their religion, so long as the desecration also allows them to promote their religion. Wed, 28 Aug 2019 03:47:04 EDT Andrew L. Seidel b473f717-612e-4480-96c8-4ff9fd1c4f7a https://religiondispatches.org/2019/01/08/battle-meaning-religious-freedom-day A proposed resolution intended to commemorate perhaps one of the most radical, liberatory, and revolutionary pieces of legislation in the history of the world misses the point. And it’s not a mistake. Tue, 08 Jan 2019 04:08:08 EST Frederick Clarkson 24ad7dd2-d1a9-42b7-ba0a-5b9b1cf81b3f https://religiondispatches.org/2018/02/09/how-abortion-debate-turned-christian-right-liberal-arguments-and-birthed-religious Historically, the Christian Right has not been recognized for its celebration of liberal values. On the contrary, any reference to organizations such as the Moral Majority and Christian Coalition is likely to conjure decidedly illiberal associations. These advocacy groups were… Fri, 09 Feb 2018 01:12:59 EST Eric C. Miller 86fce0eb-fa36-4b84-8ca3-84f672048275 https://religiondispatches.org/2017/12/18/indonesian-court-rejects-religious-conservatives-bid-criminalize-gay-sex-more-global Costa Rican human rights and anti-torture activist Victor Madrigal-Borloz is the new UN Independent Expert on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity. The first expert, Vitit Muntarbhorn, resigned for health reasons after his first year in the position, which was created… Mon, 18 Dec 2017 12:04:57 EST Peter Montgomery 8d3b4277-3328-49cd-8e55-6790a23489ec https://religiondispatches.org/2017/12/05/what-masterpiece-cakeshop-oral-arguments-suggest-about-future-lgbt-discrimination The Supreme Court heard oral arguments this morning in Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission, the case involving a Colorado baker, Jack Phillips, who for religious reasons refused to create a custom cake for a same-sex wedding reception. The… Tue, 05 Dec 2017 03:29:23 EST Patrick Hornbeck d9f3907b-2525-44e5-a4ab-56df3d911e0e https://religiondispatches.org/2017/11/30/how-ruling-masterpiece-cakeshop-could-embolden-white-nationalists While deploying “religious freedom” arguments to push back on progressive social change is hardly new, the explicitly anti-LGBT premise of the upcoming Masterpiece Cakeshop suit is a relatively novel iteration of this bedrock principle’s adjudication at the high court, according… Thu, 30 Nov 2017 12:34:05 EST Sunnivie Brydum dab00b59-b194-4419-ac2b-76dc904e0155 https://religiondispatches.org/2017/11/27/marriage-debate-australia-shifts-push-religious-exemptions-and-more-global-lgbt-recap Queer Asia has issued a call for submissions for the Queer Asia Film Festival and Queer Asia Conference, which are tentatively scheduled for June 29 and 30, 2018. Deadline for submission of abstracts for the conference is December 30, 2017… Mon, 27 Nov 2017 02:02:08 EST Peter Montgomery 82480bd6-f13a-481a-b797-d64e2e13a62f https://religiondispatches.org/2017/11/06/anti-lgbt-culture-warriors-march-more-global-lgbt-recap International ILGA published its 2017 Global Attitudes Survey on Sexual, Gender and Sex Minorities, which it calls “the largest investigation of attitudes towards sexual, gender and sex minorities around the world ever conducted.” A section of the survey asks whether… Mon, 06 Nov 2017 12:14:03 EST Peter Montgomery 6a889402-6d5f-4d5c-a9f5-2f72451aca19 https://religiondispatches.org/2017/10/23/rising-global-tide-anti-gay-crackdowns-more-global-lgbt-recap International At the Washington Post, Max Bearak takes note of the “rising global tide of crackdowns on LGBT communities” that we have been documenting in Religion Dispatches’ weekly Global LGBT Recap: This week, a government journal in the former Soviet… Mon, 23 Oct 2017 01:23:20 EDT Peter Montgomery cc193b3b-9a72-42f2-8132-6cfe9ec7d07a https://religiondispatches.org/2017/10/10/us-religious-right-groups-support-move-toward-illiberalism-hungary-and-poland-and-more The European Lesbian* Conference, which brought together 500 activists, artists, academics, politicians, journalistas and civil society leaders in Vienna ended on Sunday. At 76 Crimes, Dominique Menoga and Michaël Cousin reflect on the first international francophone conference on sexual and… Tue, 10 Oct 2017 02:55:22 EDT Peter Montgomery 7a562892-1108-441e-953f-d09831b49596 https://religiondispatches.org/2017/10/08/mormon-leader-affirms-doctrine-marriage-and-more-global-lgbt-recap Global Religious Right: ADF Expands Again Alliance Defending Freedom, the US-based religious right legal group, has expanded its global culture-war reach with the opening of an office in London. In an email to supporters, ADF’s international affiliate wrote, “Lord Alton… Sun, 08 Oct 2017 02:39:01 EDT Peter Montgomery ebea32f4-db68-47bf-aec7-591fd3f62bfb