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

Hon. William Wagner Speaks at Duke Law on Constitutional Virtue and Judicial Restraint Durham, N.C. — The Federalist Society at Duke University Law School recently hosted Hon. William Wagner (Ret.), the WFFC Distinguished Chair for Faith & Freedom at Spring Arbor University, for a keynote lecture titled “The Virtue of True Meaning and the Tyranny of the Few.” One of the nation’s top law schools, Duke provided a distinguished forum for Professor Wagner’s address on the relatio

LANSING, Mich.  — The Hon. William Wagner (Ret.), former chair of the State Bar of Michigan’s Religious Liberty Law Section, called on the Michigan Supreme Court to uphold constitutional guarantees of Free Exercise of Religious Conscience and Due Process while opposing proposed amendments to Michigan’s Code of Judicial Conduct and Rules of Professional Conduct. The Michigan Supreme Court is considering ADM File No. 2023-35 , which would revise Canon 3 and Rule 6.5 to prohibi

Judicially active writing—what some call organic jurisprudence—erodes the Rule of Law by empowering judges to abandon their limited duty of applying the Constitution and laws, and instead to usurp the policymaking authority reserved to the elected Executive and Legislative branches. When lawyers encourage courts to create conclusions not textually grounded in statutory law or the Constitution, they bypass the democratic process and enable judges to substitute unprincipled jud

The Wagner Faith & Freedom Center at Spring Arbor University was honored to co-sponsor the 2025 Council for Christian Colleges & Universities (CCCU) Law and Public Policy Conference, held in Dallas, Texas. This premier gathering of Christian scholars, legal practitioners, university presidents and human resource leaders engaged pressing cultural and constitutional questions shaping public life today. As part of the conference, the Honorable William Wagner (Ret.), Distinguishe

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 Ben Franklin Fellowship Working Group on Human Rights just published a short white paper that is worth the read. It offers a vigorous defense of the natural rights foundation of the United States’ political order, situating the Declaration of Independence within the broader Lockean and Stoic traditions. It emphasizes that governments exist not to create rights, but to secure those unalienable ones—life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness—through which human beings atta

Comment praises Department of Veterans Affairs’ proposed rule (RIN: 2900-AS31(P)) as a measure that protects the dignity of human life and restores good governance under the rule of law. SPRING ARBOR, MI  — William Wagner, Distinguished Chair for Faith & Freedom at Spring Arbor University, and others, filed an official public comment today in strong support of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Veterans Health Administration (VHA), proposed rule  “Reproductive Health Se

Religious Oppression in Turkey

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

Here is a special Independence Day message from the Wagner Faith & Freedom Center

Faith & Freedom Episode 142 - Professor Wagner explains how the government uses its power to interfere with religious expression and how the First Amendment can restore this precious freedom.   Listen Here To listen to more episodes of Faith & Freedom with Prof. Wm Wagner, go here:

Conversation censorship laws regulating professions (e.g., lawyers, physicians, pharmacists, counselors, etc) substantially interfere with a Christian person's religious identity and expressive exercise of their religious conscience. WFFC's latest White Paper focuses on Colorado's conversation censorship law that regulates counselors licensed by the State.  Under the law, the State of Colorado deliberately requires a Christian person to renounce her religious expression, cons

The Wagner Faith & Freedom Center hosted a trip to Washington, D.C. Here is a day by day summary of our learning adventure including titles of the daily lectures and presentations. Day 1 Many of the national monuments reflect biblical principles and Christian faith. World War II Memorial Christian Heritage and Worldview Short Lecture - Freedom isn't Free I The World War II Memorial honors the 16 million Americans who served in the armed forces during the war and the more than

April 21, 2025 — Denver, Colorado — William Wagner presented testimony to the Colorado House of Representatives concerning a constitutional amendment recognizing the inalienable right of parents to direct the upbringing, education, and care of their children. “The deeply rooted historical and legal traditions of this nation recognize what every parent knows the moment they hold their child for the first time …  It has been given to them the duty, responsibility, and right to

Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago — A Council of Evangelical Churches hosted a landmark gathering of pastors and ministry leaders from across the Caribbean, featuring a powerful keynote address by the Wagner Faith & Freedom Center. The event focused on equipping church leaders with a deeper understanding of the foundations of freedom, grounded in timeless principles of democracy, good governance, and the rule of law. Drawing from his newly presented work, The Foundations of

Presented by Prof. William Wagner to International Christian Professors 9 April 2025 Good morning, colleagues.  We come from over twenty nations with very different cultures, yet we are all brothers and sisters in Christ. It is a distinct honor share this message with you today. As a fellow Christian and former judge, I stand before you not just with legal experience, but with a shared reverence for the One who authored both law and liberty. The Apostle Paul tells us in 2 Cor

Episode 135 - Professor Wagner reviews a new Supreme Court case impacting professionals' freedom of religious expression.   Listen Here To see more episodes of Faith & Freedom click the ARBOR logo below:

Episode 131 – professor Wagner interviews Gary Mason about an upcoming opportunity to visit our nation’s capital. Listen Here To listen to more episodes of Faith & Freedom with Prof. Wm Wagner, go here: