WASHINGTON – Alliance Defending Freedom presented its 2024 Edwin Meese III Originalism & Religious Liberty Award to Thomas F. Farr, president emeritus of the Religious Freedom Institute, at a ceremony Friday.
“The Meese Award is the highest award ADF bestows,” said ADF CEO, President, and General Counsel Kristen Waggoner. “Its namesake, Attorney General Edwin Meese, is a hero to us all. His wisdom and friendship provided crucial guidance and support to ADF in its formative years. General Meese’s life’s work embodied a commitment to the Constitution, textual originalism, and religious liberty. ADF presents this award each year to leaders in our culture who have courageously walked into the wind of opposition; giants on whose shoulders we stand as we work to protect our most fundamental freedoms. This year, I’m honored to present the Meese Award to Dr. Thomas F. Farr. ADF recognizes Tom’s significant efforts in publicly promoting and defending our most cherished freedoms and a principled jurisprudence through the active advancement of constitutional originalism.”
As an advocate, thought leader, and public servant, Dr. Farr’s vigilance in expanding religious liberty around the globe has been unparalleled. He served for 28 years as a foreign service officer, where he worked diligently to bring religious literacy to the Foreign Service through education. He pioneered America’s religious liberty diplomacy, resulting in global advances for free exercise and, in some cases, the saving of lives.
Waggoner noted that Farr possesses a deep understanding of how essential religious freedom is to human flourishing—and that its divine origin makes it the most precious of natural rights.
“Tom’s years at the helm of the Religious Freedom Institute produced remarkable scholarship, upon which ADF’s lawyers and experts regularly rely,” she explained. “Tom’s decades of faithful service have embodied and advanced religious freedom through scholarship, diplomacy, and a steady Christian presence in the halls of power.”
The award is named in honor of former U.S. Attorney General Edwin Meese III, who was the first recipient in 2009.
“I am honored to have my name associated with this award, which has been distinguished by the outstanding individuals who have received the award over the past years. That tradition continues today with our recipient, Thomas F. Farr, who has tirelessly worked to advance religious freedom,” Meese said.
Past award recipients include U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, Judge Robert Bork, Archbishop Charles Chaput, Dr. Albert Mohler, Ambassador Sam Brownback, Chuck Colson, Prof. Robert P. George, ADF Founder Alan Sears, Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch, and former ADF CEO and Home School Legal Defense Association Founder Michael 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.
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