Coalition Urges Supreme Court to Protect Parents from Government Policies That Displace Their Authority Over the Care and Upbringing of Their Children SPRING ARBOR, Mich. — September 15, 2026 — The Wagner Faith & Freedom Center at Spring Arbor University today joined a major coalition of national organizations and leaders in filing an amicus curiae brief before the Supreme Court of the United States defending the fundamental constitutional right of parents to direct the care

If you follow our work here at all, good news from Nigeria has been painfully scarce. For years, the story has been one of murdered worshipers, kidnapped schoolchildren, displaced villages, intimidated converts, and a government too often unwilling, or unable, to secure justice. Against that dark background, a recent Federal High Court ruling deserves more than passing notice. It is a genuine victory for religious freedom, human dignity, and the Rule of Law. The case concerns

Reflections on Catholic Charities Bureau, Inc. v. Wisconsin Labor & Industry Review Commission The American constitutional order begins with the first principle that civil government may exercise only limited power. Among the most important of those limits is that government holds no authority to define authentic religious belief or determine how citizens must express their faith. Such belong to God, and to the religious communities that seek to obey Him. Whenever the State a

Reflections on First Choice Women’s Resource Centers, Inc. v. Davenport Every generation must decide whether liberty is an inherent right bestowed by our Creator or a privilege bestowed by government. As I've often noted, the American Founders answered that question with remarkable clarity. The Declaration of Independence proclaims that all persons “are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights” and that governments are instituted not to create those rights but

The Department of Justice’s newly issued guidance on religious liberty, and the legal basis for it, deserves our attention. Although it lacks the drama of a Supreme Court opinion, its practical effect may prove equally significant. The Guidance directs every federal agency to interpret and administer federal law in light of nearly a decade of Supreme Court decisions reaffirming America’s first freedom. That development reflects an abiding constitutional truth. Religious liber

Commentary on the Presidential Commission on Religious Liberty Draft Report The Presidential Commission on Religious Liberty has released for public comment one of the most significant governmental studies of religious liberty in a generation. At a time when public debate often reduces religious freedom to a political slogan or a cultural grievance, the Commission’s draft report returns the discussion to something far more enduring, first principles. That alone deserves comme

The release of Pastor Ezra Jin from imprisonment in China is a welcome answer to prayer. After months of detention for faithfully shepherding an independent Christian congregation, he is once again free. We rightly rejoice with his family and with believers around the world who never ceased praying for his release. His story, though, reminds us of a deeper truth. Freedom is precious, but faithfulness is priceless. Throughout history, those who have proclaimed the Gospel of J

WORLD legal correspondent Jenny Rough reports on the Supreme Court ruling that states may reserve girls' and women's sports for females, interviewing the Hon. William Wagner, WFFC Distinguished Chair for Faith & Freedom. Listen Here https://wng.org/podcasts/a-league-of-their-own-1782942774 World News Interview

Washington D.C. — The Wagner Faith & Freedom Center at Spring Arbor University applauds today’s landmark decision by the Supreme Court of the United States upholding the constitutionality of laws enacted by West Virginia and Idaho preserving girls’ and women’s athletic competition for biological females. In a decisive affirmation of both Title IX and the Equal Protection Clause, the Court held that states may reserve female athletic teams for biological women and girls in ord

The Supreme Court just answered one of the most consequential constitutional questions of our time. In upholding the laws of West Virginia and Idaho reserving girls’ and women’s athletic teams for biological females, the Court did far more than decide who may compete in school sports. It reaffirmed a foundational principle of constitutional government. The law must remain anchored to objective reality. Congress enacted Title IX in 1972 to ensure that women and girls would enj

The measure of a free society is not how it treats popular opinions. It is how it treats the conscience of those who peacefully disagree. For more than 125 years, the Dominican Sisters of Hawthorne have quietly cared for the dying poor. They ask nothing in return. They accept no government funding, charge no fees, and seek only the freedom to carry out Christ’s command to care for “the least of these.” Yet, New York now threatens these women with fines, loss of licensure, an

A free and democratic society has both the right and the responsibility to protect its citizens from violence, intimidation, and genuine threats. Canada’s recently enacted Combatting Hate Act (Bill C-9) seeks to address legitimate concerns about rising hate crimes and antisemitic violence. Yet in pursuing that worthy objective, Canada risks undermining one of the very liberties that distinguishes free nations from authoritarian regimes (i.e., the fundamental right to speak, b

The recent criminal sentencing of Brazilian parents Audato and Ieda Denardi for homeschooling their children should concern every nation committed to human dignity, parental rights, and the rule of law. While reasonable people may debate educational policy, no government should criminalize devoted parents who are faithfully educating their children and acting in accordance with their deeply held convictions. At stake is a principle far greater than homeschooling. The case rai

The Supreme Court’s recent decision in Landor v. Louisiana Department of Corrections and Public Safety presents a difficult but important question at the intersection of religious liberty, statutory interpretation, and constitutional governance. The case reminds us that protecting freedom requires both a commitment to individual rights and fidelity to the constitutional structure that secures them. The facts are straightforward and compelling. Damon Landor is a practicing Ras

The Supreme Court’s decision today in Cisco Systems v. Doe may not generate the public attention given to other high profile cases, but it represents an important reaffirmation of constitutional government. At its core, the case is not primarily about China, persecution of Falun Gong practitioners, or even international human rights litigation. Rather, it concerns a more fundamental question. Who possesses authority to create legal causes of action in our constitutional repu

A Christian college student is receiving legal support from First Liberty Institute after allegedly losing her part-time job following conversations about her religious beliefs. Paige, who worked at a local coffee shop while pursuing her education, says she was questioned by coworkers after they learned she attended a Christian college. According to reports, Paige answered questions about her faith honestly and respectfully. Just days later, she received a text message from m

Words matter. They reveal truth, preserve meaning, and communicate reality. When government deliberately alters language, it often does more than change vocabulary; it seeks to reshape how citizens understand the world. New York’s recent legislation replacing the terms “mother” and “father” with “gestating parent” and “non-gestating parent” reflects precisely such an effort. While advocates portray the change as inclusive, it ultimately undermines fundamental truths about hum

The Wagner Center joined a coalition of 44 other amici in a U.S. Supreme Court brief defending the right to host a home prayer group. Professor Wagner thanked Advancing American Freedom for writing the brief in Grand v. University Heights. In this case, Daniel Grand, an Orthodox Jew, challenges University Heights, Ohio’s use of its zoning laws to prevent him from hosting a prayer group in his own home. As an Orthodox Jew, Mr. Grand’s religious practice requires prayer with a

This week in Lansing, the Hon. William Wagner (Ret.), Distinguished Professor of Law Emeritus, delivered a keynote address before the Religious Liberty Section of the State Bar of Michigan addressing the growing movement to legalize physician-assisted suicide in Michigan and the profound constitutional, moral, and cultural implications surrounding the issue. Speaking from both a constitutional and biblical worldview perspective, Wagner warned that the recently proposed Michig

The horrific attack at the Islamic Center of San Diego is a criminal tragedy. It assaulted innocent human life, religious liberty, and the constitutional order that protects peaceful coexistence in the United States. The murder of worshippers gathered at a mosque, following violent attacks against Jewish, Catholic, Mormon, and Protestant congregations over the past year, demands moral clarity from every American committed to ordered liberty and the Rule of Law. No political g