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It is the First Amendment of the Constitution that protects religious freedom, with the Establishment Clause and Free Exercise Clause further safeguarding that right.
A recent report by First Liberty Institute, the Texas-based nonprofit Christian conservative legal organization, shows which U.S. states are making good on that promise — with others falling behind.
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The nonprofit compared how the 50 states protect religious liberty through legislation.
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The third annual “Religious Liberty in the States” report ranked the states on an index based on 39 legal provisions that states can adopt to protect religious liberty.
After determining whether states have the statutes, the protections are accumulated into 16 “safeguards,” which are averaged to produce one index score per state.
The First Amendment of the Constitution protects religious freedom by prohibiting Congress from establishing a religion or interfering with its free exercise.(spxChrome)
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New “safeguards” this year include absentee voting, health-care provisions, health insurance mandates, marriage and wedding issues, religious ceremonial life safeguards, and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.
“This dynamic index will increasingly represent how well states protect religious liberty in the present and will be less tied to what states did decades ago,” said Paul Mueller, associate director of the project, in a press release.
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“Therefore, we expect states to move up (or down) in the annual index ratings based on how actively they choose to protect religious liberty.”
First Liberty Institute released its annual “Religious Liberty in the States” report, which ranked Illinois as the best state for protecting religious liberty. (iStock)
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Illinois is again considered the No. 1 state for religious liberty in this report, but its score slipped from 85% to 80% due to its failure to adopt new protections to prevent houses of worship from closing, the organization noted.
Following the Prairie State, Florida, Montana and Arkansas are listed among the top.
Mississippi capped off the top five best states.
First Liberty Institute released its third annual “Religious Liberty in the States” report.(Ildar Abulkhanov)
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“Now is the time for every state to do all they can to protect our first freedom,” said Kelly Shackelford, First Liberty Institute’s president, CEO and chief counsel, in the release.
“The Religious Liberty in the States index empowers citizens with the knowledge they need to push to ensure their religious liberties are more fully protected.”
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Listed at the bottom by First Liberty are California, ranked 48th, and Alaska, at 49th place.
The worst state for religious liberty based on the report is West Virginia at 25%.
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First Liberty Institute noted that the state’s score rose from the previous year from 14%, due to the adoption of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.
The worst state for religious liberty based on the new report is West Virginia, according to a First Liberty Institute report. (spxChrome; Ildar Abulkhanov)
West Virginia’s Gov. Jim Justice, a Republican, signed the law in March prohibiting the state from substantially burdening someone’s constitutional right to freedom of religion unless doing so “is essential to further a compelling governmental interest,” the Associated Press reported at the time.
First Liberty noted on its website, “Many states are making big improvements, and the data clearly shows it. But there’s still plenty of room for progress.”
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It added, “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 [stated in] the report, most states on average adopt less than half of the safeguards that protect religious liberty.”
Fox News Digital reached out to First Liberty Institute for additional comment.
Four early-career journalists have joined Bridge Michigan for the summer
The internship program is now in its eighth consecutive year
Alumni have worked at major national and regional news outlets
Four emerging reporters will spend the summer working with Bridge Michigan.
This marks the eighth year of summer internships at Bridge. Alumni have gone on to careers at outlets like The New York Times, USA TODAY, MLive, the Petoskey News-Review and WKAR, as well as paths including Harvard Law School and a Fulbright scholarship. One former intern, Asha Lewis, now serves as Bridge’s full-time digital marketing associate.
“At Bridge, we’re dedicated to helping make Michigan a better state and part of that mission is growing the next generation of great journalists,” said Joel Kurth, Bridge Michigan executive editor for impact. “We’re excited to welcome them to our newsroom.”
Isabella Figueroa Nogueira is a junior studying journalism and economics at Michigan State University. During the school year, she is a writer for Great Lakes Echo, which covers stories about the environment and sustainability.
She is passionate about using journalism to explore the connection between people, policy and the natural world. Outside of writing, she loves to travel, watch movies, spend time with friends and walk her dogs, Oso and Polo.
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Figueroa Nogueira will be reporting on Michigan’s environment through Aug. 21.
Nate Miller is from Berrien Springs, Michigan. He will be a senior at the University of Michigan, where he studies English.
Miller will be a general assignment reporter for Bridge through June 19.
Blace Carpenter is a rising senior at Central Michigan University, studying journalism with a minor in multimedia design. Since starting his career in the news industry in 2022, Carpenter has worked for publications such as the Grand Haven Tribune, Alpena News and Greenville Daily News.
Carpenter has also had some work published in statewide and national publications. For the past year, he has served as the managing editor of CMU’s student publication, Central Michigan Life.
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Carpenter will report on northern and rural Michigan for Bridge through Aug. 14.
Ella Miller is Bridge Michigan’s photojournalism intern. A metro Detroit native and recent graduate of Central Michigan University, she studied photojournalism and multimedia design.
She was a staff photographer and photo editor at Central Michigan Life during her time in college, where she discovered her love for visual storytelling and community-centered journalism.
Law enforcement in an east-central Minnesota community is asking for the public’s help to find those responsible for throwing large rocks and vehicle oil off an Interstate 35 overpass.
The Chisago County Sheriff’s Office said there have been multiple reports in the past week of vehicles being struck by objects dropped from the bridge by 530th Street near Rush City, about 60 miles northeast of the Twin Cities metro area.
Law enforcement search the area near Interstate 35 and 530th Street near Rush City, Minnesota, on May 3, 2026.
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MnDOT
On Sunday night just after 10 p.m., authorities say someone “threw numerous large rocks and a significant amount of oil onto passing vehicles and the roadway itself,” resulting in “multiple vehicles being damaged.”
The sheriff’s office says the Minnesota State Patrol is assisting in the investigation, and anyone with information is asked to call 651-257-4100.
One lane of a portion of eastbound Interstate 70 in Columbia will close overnight for emergency pavement repairs, according to the Missouri Department of Transportation.
The closure will begin at 3 p.m. on Monday for the right lane at St. Charles Road, near mile marker 131, and will be reopened Tuesday morning when repairs are complete, according to the news release.
The area is the site of ongoing construction as part of MoDOT’s Improve I-70 Program. Construction crews tore down the St. Charles Road bridge over I-70 last month so a new bridge that’s wide enough to accommodate three lanes of travel each way underneath can be constructed.
