Alliance Defending Freedom

The Lotus Sutra − an ancient Buddhist scripture from the 3rd century − continues to have relevance today

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, January 3, 2024
Biology, Jews, Woman, Research, Male, Colonialism, Alliance, Burrell Collection, Brahma, History of Christian universalism, Sutra, University, Judaism, Lotus Sutra, Lotus, Female, Islam, History, Alliance Defending Freedom, Toy

Historically, these religions were often more accepting of varied gender identities before colonialism imposed binary gender as a universal concept.

Key Points: 
  • Historically, these religions were often more accepting of varied gender identities before colonialism imposed binary gender as a universal concept.
  • One such text is the Lotus Sutra, one of the most popular Buddhist scriptures in East Asia.
  • The Lotus Sutra conveys its message of universal Buddhahood in several stories that depict transformations between male and female bodies.

The dragon girl’s gender transformation

  • To understand the story of the dragon girl, it is important to understand how Buddhas’ bodies were defined as masculine in early Buddhism.
  • All of these Buddhas are said to possess 32 marks that distinguished their bodies from regular bodies.
  • One of these marks was a sheathed penis, which meant that Buddha bodies were male by definition.
  • How then could your female body attain Buddhahood so quickly?” However, the dragon girl proves Shariputra wrong by instantly attaining Buddhahood, transforming her young, female, nonhuman body into the male body of a Buddha.
  • Women in premodern East Asia found inspiration in the dragon girl’s story because it showed that their own female bodies were not barriers to enlightenment.

The bodhisattva’s gender fluidity

  • A bodhisattva is an advanced spiritual being who postpones enlightenment to help people in the world.
  • Indian Buddhist texts described Avalokiteshvara as male, but in China people came to see Avalokiteshvara as female.
  • Though scholars have not found one single explanation for this transformation, the Lotus Sutra passage offers justification for Avalokiteshvara’s gender fluidity.

The Lotus Sutra and transgender inspiration

  • Due to the Lotus Sutra, Avalokiteshvara has become an inspiration and icon for transgender, gender-fluid and nonbinary people in and beyond East Asia.
  • A blog post from Taiwan quotes from the Lotus Sutra in describing Avalokiteshvara as a nonbinary figure who transcends any single gender identity.
  • Despite these objections, more and more people have found inspiration in Avalokiteshvara as a transgender, nonbinary or gender-fluid figure.


Megan Bryson does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

Patriot Mobile Congratulates Alliance Defending Freedom Court Decision Requires the End of Mail-Order Abortion Drugs

Retrieved on: 
Friday, August 18, 2023
Student, Democrats for Life of America, American Council of Life Insurers, Woman, ADF, Four Pillars, Alliance Defending Freedom, Organization, Child, Council, Health, FDA, Death, Regulation of food and dietary supplements by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Food, Safety, Birth control, Vitis

Grapevine, Texas, Aug. 18, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Patriot Mobile Congratulates Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) in Wednesday’s win, requiring the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to protect the health and safety of women and end illegal mail-order abortions drugs.

Key Points: 
  • Grapevine, Texas, Aug. 18, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Patriot Mobile Congratulates Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) in Wednesday’s win, requiring the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to protect the health and safety of women and end illegal mail-order abortions drugs.
  • This week’s ruling is evidence of their impact in protecting women and saving babies,” said Leigh Wambsganss, Patriot Mobile Chief Communications Officer.
  • “Every Patriot Mobile customer can celebrate this win as we give a portion of their bills to support these tremendous organizations.”
    In a unanimous ruling Wednesday, the 5th Circuit Appeals Court prohibited abortion providers from sending chemical abortion drugs through the mail.
  • “Patriot Mobile is Pro-Life and Pro-Love,” said Jenny Story, Patriot Mobile Chief Operations Officer.

Baseless anti-trans claims fuel adoption of harmful laws – two criminologists explain

Retrieved on: 
Monday, June 5, 2023
Rape, Association, Prison, Gender identity, Depression, Family Research Council, Violence, Crime, American Principles Project, Anxiety, Woman, Liberty Counsel, Second Continental Congress, Alliance Defending Freedom, Science, Alliance, Congress, School, Man, Human, Personhood, Republican, Textbook, Mental health, Legislation, Toy, Drug, Birth control, Nursing

After boycotts threatened to cost the state more than US$3.7 billion, legislators repealed the law in 2017.

Key Points: 
  • After boycotts threatened to cost the state more than US$3.7 billion, legislators repealed the law in 2017.
  • Since then, however, religious and political conservatives have successfully spread an anti-trans moral panic, or irrational fear, across the United States.
  • As far back as 2001, Republican lawmakers proposed the first of what are now nearly 900 anti-LGBTQ+ bills.
  • In fact, transgender people are more than four times as likely to be the victim of a crime as cisgender people.

Expanding reach

    • Anti-trans laws like the one enacted in Kansas over the governor’s veto reach beyond restrooms to limit access to many sex-segregated spaces, including “locker rooms, prisons, domestic violence shelters and rape crisis centers,” based on the sex assigned at birth to a person who seeks to use those spaces.
    • And Florida’s barrage of anti-LGBTQ+ regulations even prohibits the mere discussion of sexuality and gender identity in schools through the 12th grade.

What the data shows

    • The reality, however, is that trans-exclusionary laws do not protect cisgender women and girls from harassment or violence.
    • Rather, they result in dramatic increases in violent victimization for transgender and gender-nonconforming adults and children.
    • When laws permit transgender people to access sex-segregated spaces in accordance with their gender identities, crime rates do not increase.
    • In other words, cisgender women and girls are no safer than they would be in the absence of anti-trans laws.

Lies drive harm

    • Because criminological data does not support trans-exclusionary laws or policies, advocates of anti-trans laws often resort to lies, flawed anecdotal evidence, or what fact-checkers have called “extreme cherry-picking” to support their position.
    • The criminological research is clear that anti-trans laws do not help the people they are claimed to protect.
    • In fact, these laws inflict harm on people who are even more vulnerable.

Family Research Council, Alliance Defending Freedom Hosting Celebrating Dobbs, Celebrating Life

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, June 29, 2022
Family Research Council, Supreme court, Pregnancy, ADF, Court, Law of the United Kingdom, Alliance Defending Freedom, Online gambling, Birth control

LEESBURG, Va., June 29, 2022 /PRNewswire/ --This Sunday, July 3rd, Family Research Council and Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) are hosting a live special event in the aftermath of the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark decision inDobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization.The Court's decision inDobbsoverturned the 49-year oldRoe v. WadeSupreme Court decision that legalized abortion through all nine months of pregnancy.

Key Points: 
  • LEESBURG, Va., June 29, 2022 /PRNewswire/ --This Sunday, July 3rd, Family Research Council and Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) are hosting a live special event in the aftermath of the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark decision inDobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization.The Court's decision inDobbsoverturned the 49-year oldRoe v. WadeSupreme Court decision that legalized abortion through all nine months of pregnancy.
  • The event titled "CelebratingDobbs,Celebrating Life" will be livestreamed this Sunday starting at 7 PM Eastern.
  • Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch, who led the state's efforts asking the Supreme Court to overturnRoe v. Wade, will address the event alongside many other pro-life leaders.

Inspire Insight: Free Faith-Based ESG Investment Screening Tool

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, June 7, 2022
Leadership, Inspiration, WSJ, First Amendment to the United States Constitution, Google, AUM, LLC, Alliance Defending Freedom, ESG, Bad, BRI, The Daily Wire, CEO, Nature, Environment, Viewpoint, Investment, Senior, Organization, Multimedia, Financial Times, Supreme court, Technology, ADF, SEC, FA, Industry, ETF, Registered investment adviser, Good, Financial technology, District of Columbia Voting Rights Amendment, Abortion, Workplace, RIA, Financial adviser, Insurance, Index

BOISE METRO, Idaho, June 7, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Inspire Insight is a new online investment screening tool that gives users instant access to biblical values data on over 24,000 stocks, mutual funds, and ETFs. The free tool released by Inspire Investing, a leader in the biblically responsible investing industry, utilizes their proprietary Inspire Impact Score™ methodology that allows users to instantly measure the biblical values alignment of their investments according to Biblically Responsible Investing (BRI) principles. 

Key Points: 
  • The free tool released by Inspire Investing, a leader in the biblically responsible investing industry, utilizes their proprietary Inspire Impact Score methodology that allows users to instantly measure the biblical values alignment of their investments according to Biblically Responsible Investing (BRI) principles.
  • "It's the Google of biblically responsible ESG investing," said Robert Netzly, CEO and creator of the FinTech tool.
  • These factors contribute to the Inspire Impact score being the most comprehensive biblical ESG investing screening tool.
  • Investment advisory services are offered through Inspire Investing, LLC, a Registered Investment Advisor with the SEC.

Inspire Investing Co-Sponsors New Viewpoint Diversity Score Business Index to Measure Corporate Respect for Religious and Ideological Diversity

Retrieved on: 
Thursday, May 26, 2022
Senior, FA, Registered investment adviser, Risk, Religion, Financial Times, ADF, AUM, Viewpoint, Family, Alliance Defending Freedom, Ease of doing business index, Leadership, Multimedia, Investment, Law of the United Kingdom, View, Index, Nature, Workplace, Research, Supreme court, Industry, BRI, RIA, Inspiration, Freedom, Congress, Organization, Supreme, Marriage, Chief executive officer, SEC, LLC, CEO, Speech, ESG, Public relations, Management, Financial adviser

BOISE METRO, Idaho, May 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- In certain corporate executive circles, it has become popular for C-suite activists to leverage their company's brand influence to push for political agendas that threaten free speech and religious freedom. To address this growing problem, Inspire Investing has partnered with Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) to bring transparency to the American corporations that are fueling the undermining of these sacred rights.

Key Points: 
  • This joint venture between Inspire Investing and ADF has resulted in the Viewpoint Diversity Score website ( www.ViewpointDiversityScore.org ) and Business Index.
  • "This is exactly why we built the Inspire Insight technology that contributes to the Viewpoint Diversity Score," said Robert Netzly, the CEO of Inspire Investing and one of 10 members of the Viewpoint Diversity Score Advisory Council.
  • Partnering with ADF to create the Business Index provides critical information about which companies are aligned with or opposed to religious freedoms."
  • The companies scored by the index only hit an overall average of 12% (out of 100%) for respecting religious and ideological diversity.

Inspire Insight: Free Faith-Based ESG Investment Screening Tool

Retrieved on: 
Monday, May 23, 2022
Senior, FA, Google, Registered investment adviser, Investment, Financial Times, ADF, AUM, ETF, Alliance Defending Freedom, Leadership, Environment, Multimedia, Nature, Workplace, First Amendment to the United States Constitution, Bad, Supreme court, Industry, BRI, Inspiration, RIA, Good, Technology, Organization, Supreme, Abortion, SEC, LLC, Financial technology, CEO, ESG, Financial adviser, Insurance, Index

BOISE METRO, Idaho, May 23, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Inspire Insight is a new online investment screening tool that gives users instant access to biblical values data on over 24,000 stocks, mutual funds, and ETFs. The free tool released by Inspire Investing, a leader in the biblically responsible investing industry, utilizes their proprietary Inspire Impact Score™ methodology that allows users to instantly measure the biblical values alignment of their investments according to Biblically Responsible Investing (BRI) principles. 

Key Points: 
  • The free tool released by Inspire Investing, a leader in the biblically responsible investing industry, utilizes their proprietary Inspire Impact Score methodology that allows users to instantly measure the biblical values alignment of their investments according to Biblically Responsible Investing (BRI) principles.
  • "It's the Google of biblically responsible ESG investing," said Robert Netzly, CEO and creator of the FinTech tool.
  • These factors contribute to the Inspire Impact score being the most comprehensive biblical ESG investing screening tool.
  • Investment advisory services are offered through Inspire Investing, LLC, a Registered Investment Advisor with the SEC.

Solidarity HealthShare Announces Recipients of Annual Founder and Innovator Awards in the Fight for Pro-Life Healthcare

Retrieved on: 
Thursday, January 20, 2022
Pediatrics, Love, Alliance, Alliance Defending Freedom, Roe v. Wade, Life, Catholic Church, Member, Student, Solidarity, Leadership, Movement, Culture, HealthShare, Founder, Catholic Medical Association, Law of the United Kingdom, St. Mary's Church, Supreme court, OBGYN, SHS, Church, Medicine

ARLINGTON, Va., Jan. 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, just before the annual March for Life, health sharing ministry SolidarityHealthShare (SHS) announced the recipients of its Founder and Innovator Awards, which each year honor leaders in the fight for pro-life healthcare .

Key Points: 
  • ARLINGTON, Va., Jan. 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, just before the annual March for Life, health sharing ministry SolidarityHealthShare (SHS) announced the recipients of its Founder and Innovator Awards, which each year honor leaders in the fight for pro-life healthcare .
  • The healthcare industry is on the frontlines in the battle to protect the unborn, and this year's winners model effective leadership in their respective work.
  • Solidarity HealthShare is a healthcare sharing ministry offering Members an affordable, ethical way to pay for healthcare.
  • Our mission is to restore and rebuild an authentic pro-life healthcare culture that promotes the sanctity of all human life, while facilitating the sharing of our Members' medical expenses.

Alliance Defending Freedom to Purchase Lansdowne, VA Headquarters of Prison Fellowship

Retrieved on: 
Friday, March 5, 2021
Articles, Christianity, Abrahamic religions, Prison Fellowship, Alliance Defending Freedom, Charles Colson, Michael Farris, ADF

WASHINGTON, March 05, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Prison Fellowship , the nations largest Christian nonprofit serving prisoners, former prisoners, and their families, announces an agreement has been reached between Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) and Prison Fellowship to purchase its 11.3 acre campus, located in Lansdowne, Virginia.

Key Points: 
  • WASHINGTON, March 05, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Prison Fellowship , the nations largest Christian nonprofit serving prisoners, former prisoners, and their families, announces an agreement has been reached between Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) and Prison Fellowship to purchase its 11.3 acre campus, located in Lansdowne, Virginia.
  • The Board of Prison Fellowship and the senior management team are thrilled Alliance Defending Freedom will operate on the same property and buildings our founder, the late Charles Colson, dedicated to the Lord.
  • We are thrilled to reach this agreement with our partners at Prison Fellowship, said Alliance Defending Freedom President and CEO, Michael P. Farris.
  • Alliance Defending Freedom is an alliance-building, non-profit legal organization committed to protecting religious freedom, free speech, parental rights, and the sanctity of life.

1 year, 3,000 churches, 50 States: ADF is celebrating

Retrieved on: 
Thursday, October 18, 2018
Alliance Defending Freedom, Intelligent design movement, Politics, United States

As an advocate for religious liberty over the past 25 years, Alliance Defending Freedom launched the Church Alliance in response.

Key Points: 
  • As an advocate for religious liberty over the past 25 years, Alliance Defending Freedom launched the Church Alliance in response.
  • As a testament to the needs of the Church, "the response has been overwhelming, and overwhelmingly positive," said ADF Senior Counsel Erik Stanley, director of the ADF Center for Christian Ministries, which oversees the Church Alliance.
  • Preaching the Gospel and operating according to the protections guaranteed by the Constitution replaces addressing zoning challenges and making court appearances.
  • The ADF Church Alliance is open to churches of all sizes and denominations.