Evangelical Law Firm at Front of Culture War

By Kavan Peterson and Mark K. Matthews - In a modern brick building just off the highway here, a small team of evangelical lawyers is trying to elevate conservative Christian values in U.S. society.

Scottsdale, Ariz. Stateline.org - infoZine - This up-and-coming advocacy group, known formally as the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF), is increasingly challenging progressive groups such as the American Civil Liberties Union on issues such as school prayer, gay rights and abortion.

Republicans in the GOP-controlled Wisconsin Statehouse recently asked the ADF to intervene on behalf of the Legislature to oppose a lawsuit filed by the ACLU in April on behalf of six lesbian state employees who want the state to provide employee benefits for their partners.

The Wisconsin case is one sign of the growing political influence of the U.S. Christian conservative movement. No longer politically passive, groups such as ADF are well-funded and well-equipped to push their agenda.