Washington, D.C.  — In a significant development for religious liberty and constitutional law, the United States Supreme Court on Monday granted certiorari in St. Mary Catholic Parish v. Roy , agreeing to review a case that raises fundamental questions about the First Amendment’s protection of religious institutions in the public square. A number of constitutional attorneys, including Prof. William Wagner, WFFC Distinguished Chair for Faith & Freedom at Spring Arbor Universi

A Biblical and Constitutional Analysis of the 50CAN Survey By Hon. William Wagner (Ret.) WFFC Distinguished Chair for Faith and Freedom EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The State of Educational Opportunity in America (2nd Edition) survey reveals a nation in tension. Parents increasingly desire educational choice, flexibility, and greater control over their children’s formation. Yet barriers to access, declining parental engagement, and systemic limitations persist. At its core, the report

A recent study by the American Federation for Children provides important insight into one of the most consequential public policy debates of our time, how best to educate the next generation . The research examines Florida’s Tax Credit Scholarship program over its first fifteen years and compares its academic impact with the effect that equivalent increases in public-school spending would likely have produced. The findings are striking. According to the analysis, expanding s

In the Gospel of John, chapter 8, verse 32, Jesus tells his disciples, “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”  This is no casual remark. It is a foundational claim about the nature of freedom itself — that liberty is inseparable from truth. President Ronald Reagan, a statesman who grasped the religious roots of American liberty, once said, “Freedom prospers when religion is vibrant and the rule of law under God is acknowledged.”  Both Scripture and

The Constitutional Doctrine of Standing in the Context of Parental Rights Across our nation, a quiet but profound constitutional conflict is unfolding. It is not confined to distant federal agencies or obscure regulatory codes. It is happening in families. In living rooms. In conversations between mothers and daughters, fathers and sons. It is unfolding in the deeply personal, often painful moments when parents seek to guide their children through adolescence, identity strugg

The Wagner Faith & Freedom Center at Spring Arbor University is pleased to invite friends and supporters to a special luncheon program in Scottsdale, Arizona , on Monday, March 16, 2026 , at the beautiful Olive & Ivy  restaurant. This gathering will bring together members of the Spring Arbor University community for an afternoon of fellowship, encouragement, and thoughtful reflection on the vital intersection of faith, family, freedom, and Christian higher education . Feature

Washington, D.C.  — The United States Supreme Court heard oral arguments today in two closely watched cases addressing the future of women’s sports and whether female athletic programs may be required to permit male athletes to compete in women’s competitions. Among the amici curiae supporting female athletes were Spring Arbor University President Dr. Brent Ellis and the Wagner Faith & Freedom Center, represented by the Hon. William Wagner (Ret), who authored the amici briefs

Clergy content casting Mary as the “main character” of the Christmas story, infers she possessed the power to abort Jesus. This recast provides a revealing case study of a broader theological and jurisprudential shift. Drawing on constitutional theory, natural law, Christian theology, and historical precedent, the Article argues that such framing reflects the ascendancy of a secular progressive humanist worldview grounded in radical personal autonomy rather than unalienable r

By the Hon. William Wagner (Ret.) WFFC Distinguished Chair for Faith & Freedom, Spring Arbor University Abstract This Issue Brief contends that Federal involvement in education rests on unstable constitutional ground and that renewed efforts to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education (ED) highlight, rather than resolve, deep structural questions about federalism, ordered liberty, and religious freedom. Drawing on constitutional text, original meaning, historical practice,

The Michigan Department of Education’s most recent revision of the Health Education Standards represents not merely administrative fine-tuning, but a wholesale ideological shift in the purpose and scope of health instruction in Michigan schools. The Board voted to approve the updated health-education/sex-education standards on Thursday, November 13, 2025. The magnitude and nature of these changes raise profound constitutional concerns—particularly regarding parental rights, l

The Hon. William Wagner, Distinguished Chair of the Wagner Faith & Freedom Center at Spring Arbor University, participated in the 2025 Education Freedom Legal Network (EFLN) Annual Summit held October 23, 2025, in Arlington, Virginia. The EFLN—an initiative that convenes attorneys, scholars, and policy advocates focused on protecting and advancing the freedom to educate—brought together leaders from across the country for a day of high-level strategy and collaboration.  Advan

Lansing, MI — October 11, 2025 This past weekend, the Freedom Embassy in Lansing hosted Go Local: School Board Training , a daylong event equipping current and aspiring school board members to lead their districts with truth, courage, and a firm grounding in constitutional governance. The training was sponsored by the Mackinac Center for Public Policy , the Leadership Institute , and SLG. The program offered practical, faith-informed instruction on issues central to good gove

Lansing, MI — October 13, 2025  — The Honorable William R. Wagner, WFFC Distinguished Chair for Faith & Freedom, joined a distinguished group of speakers at a special training session for state school board members. Sponsored by the Mackinac Center, Salt & Light Global, and the Leadership Institute, the event brought together thought leaders and policy experts to equip board members with foundational knowledge and practical tools for effective governance. Professor Wagner del

Executive Summary   Some athletes claim legal protection for new classifications flowing from fluid gender identity formulations, rather than objective biological science showing sex as immutable. When this contemporary cultural clash challenged the advancement of fairness for women in sports, the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) sought a just resolution.   An NAIA Task Force conducted a two-year study under the direction of the Council of Presidents.

Each September 17, we pause to honor the wisdom of those who gathered in Philadelphia in 1787. The Constitution they drafted was not merely a framework for government—it was a covenant designed to preserve liberty by restraining power. The Framers, mindful of human fallibility, understood that unchecked authority threatens the unalienable rights endowed to every person by their Creator. They therefore divided power horizontally among three coequal branches, and vertically bet

The Wagner Faith & Freedom Center, the Institute of Christian Jurists, and others recently co-founded International Christian Professors. International Christian Professors  is a global fellowship of distinguished Christian scholars representing many academic disciplines and countries. Together, they form an online think tank where faith and scholarship intersect to address some of the most pressing issues facing our world today. Through this network, professors contribute th

A proposal for a new Executive Order would require states to adopt free-market education policies as a condition of receiving federal funds is a decisive step toward empowering parents, protecting religious liberty, and ensuring educational excellence across the nation. At the heart of this proposed order is a simple principle: parents, not bureaucracies, should control education dollars. By mandating that state appropriations follow the child in the form of vouchers or educa

Labor Day 2025 Message

Faith & Freedom Episode 143  – Professor Wm. Wagner interviews the WFFC’s new Chief Operating Officer, Salvatore Biondo, and explores opportunities with the Center’s Faith & Freedom Fellowship. Listen Here To listen to more episodes of Faith & Freedom with Prof. Wm Wagner, go here:

Governments increasingly infringe on parents' liberty to direct and control the upbringing of their children. Does the Constitution limit the exercise of government power in this area. Can government school officials, for example, secretly participate in the social gender transitioning of a child without notifying the child's parents? Fundamental Liberty, Strict Scrutiny, and the Deeply Rooted Legal History and Tradition of a Parent's Right to Direct and Control the Upbrin