Logan Tantibanchachai – 4 minute
We’re excited to announce the launch of the 2024 Religious Liberty in the States (RLS) Index!
Each year, the Center for Religion, Culture and Democracy (CRCD)—an initiative of First Liberty—publishes a nationwide index of domestic religious freedom. It ranks religious liberty protections for each of the 50 states. RLS focuses on select legal safeguards of religious exercise in state laws and constitutions.
Today, the CRCD team is unveiling the results at a First Liberty event. Watch below:
How Well Does Your State Protect Religious Liberty?
Which states protect religious freedom the most…and which ones protect it the least?
Use the map below to find where your state ranks from 1 to 50:
To find how well a state is protecting religious freedom, RLS assigns an aggregate percentage score to each state. That percentage is determined by the number of religious liberty “safeguards” found in state constitutions and laws. The index considers a total of 39 legal protections, which we will discuss in more detail below.
The most exciting results in RLS 2024 are massive improvements made by several states, including Florida, Montana and West Virginia. Florida passed general conscience and hospital exemption protections, increasing its overall score by 13% and moving it into second place. Montana passed general conscience, hospital and insurance exemption protections and improved its score by 20%. Both states jumped up over 10 percent, with Florida having 60% of protections last year and Montana having 46%.
Illinois is still the top state. But the Prairie State’s score did decrease by 5% from 2023 to 2024 because the state does not include one of the safeguards we added for RLS 2024—a statute protecting houses of worship from closing.
West Virginia remains at the bottom, but it nearly doubled its score. Passing a Religious Freedom Restoration Act contributed greatly to its score improving from 14% to 25%. Repeating such a gain in 2025 would move it from 50th to 40th place.
Many states are making big improvements, and the data clearly shows it. But there’s still plenty of room for progress.
The majority of states are doing less than half of what they could be doing. Only 12 states had 50% or higher of the religious liberty protections. As CRCD’s experts explain in the report, most states on average adopt less than half of the safeguards that protect religious liberty.
What’s New in the 2024 Report
Now in its third year, this rigorous and thoroughly researched study dives even deeper than the first two editions. The foundation, however, remains the same. Our experts continue using the well-defined methodology, transparency and high research standards that have characterized the project since the beginning.
For 2024, RLS expanded in scope and value. The first two RLS reports considered 29 items in 2022 and 34 in 2023. RLS 2024 covers 39 specific protections. Here’s a breakdown of the newly added safeguards:
Moreover, the RLS project welcomed new leadership for 2024.
Dr. Mark David Hall—Senior Research Fellow at CRCD—joined the project as its new director. Dr. Hall is a Professor in Regent University’s Robertson School of Government. He is also Distinguished Scholar of Christianity & Public Life at George Fox University, Associated Faculty at the Center for the Study of Law and Religion at Emory University and Senior Fellow at Baylor University’s Institute for Studies of Religion.
Dr. Paul D. Mueller—also a CRCD Research Fellow—has also been added to the project’s leadership as an associate director. Dr. Mueller serves as a senior research fellow at the American Institute for Economic Research.
We commend new leadership for working hard to continue developing the project following the substantial achievements realized in its first two years.
National Impact
Because of RLS, Americans can now access reliable information to help them understand what their states are doing to protect religious liberty. What’s more, the index also provides a resource to state governments and legislatures on what they can do to better protect the free exercise of religion.
Throughout the past year alone, we’ve witnessed huge momentum in state capitals. Because of First Liberty’s Supreme Court victories, lawmakers from coast-to-coast are passing laws and protections that align with the vision of America’s Founders. (You can read more about that in the links below).
After decades of hostility, the tide is turning. Faith and religious liberty are being restored to where they rightfully and legally belong—and the results of the 2024 RLS reflect this.
The CRCD and First Liberty are proud of the tremendous work done by all the legal experts, researchers and fellows who worked diligently to make this data available. RLS is one of our most important efforts. It was tremendously well received the last two years, and it is our hope that the 2024 edition will continue to bear fruit and impact the national discourse on religious freedom.
Learn More:
Oklahoma Says It’s ‘OK’ to Teach the Bible in Public Schools
Louisiana and Oklahoma Expand Religious Freedom Protections for Parents & Students
First Liberty Testifies Before Ohio Legislature
States Advance Bills to Better Protect Religious Liberty, Celebrate America’s Religious Heritage
More States Pass Laws to Improve Religious Freedom Protections
Volunteer Chaplains in Public Schools Are Constitutional—and Beneficial for Students
Religious Education: Some States Move in Positive Direction, Others Remain Hostile
States Continue String of Positive Actions for Religious Freedom
States Advance Bills to Help Protect Religious Freedom
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