Florida at the top of the national rankings of religious freedom following legislative additions

The state of Sunshine ranks as a number one defender of the country’s religious freedom in the 50 states, according to the fourth annual index of religious freedom in the States (RLS) of the first Liberty Institute Institute.

For the first time, Florida at the top of the national ranking, Followed by Montana, Illinois, Ohio and Mississippi. Illinois and Mississippi have collected a place in the first five each year since the index was published for the first time by the First Liberty Institute for Religion, Culture & Democracy (CRCD) in 2022.

The index uses a detailed rating system measuring legal protections and classification states according to the percentage of possible guarantees that they have adopted.

This year, with the 2025 ranking, nearly 55 percentage points separates Florida from the last place, Virginie-Western, which was the last on the index for three years in a row.

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Florida has just given first place in the conservative legal group First Liberty Institute in 2025 Religid Liberty Rankings, the group citing the increased protections of the State for religious affiliates. (istock)

“We note that the States are laboratories of religious freedom where various protections for exercises can be implemented and tested,” wrote the executive director of the CRCD, Jordan Ballor, in an introduction to the index 2025. “One of the main objectives of the RLS project is to raise awareness of what different states do. Protection of religious freedom can serve as copies to states that have been late. “

The index support report underlines that Florida “is an example” for the way in which state legislators can improve their protections concerning religious freedom. According to the report, the Sunshine State has improved nearly 20 percentage points since the release of the first RLS index in 2022.

A large part of this improvement came from the legislation adopted in 2023 to strengthen religious protections which allow health care providers to refuse to participate in medical procedures or services, such as abortion or sterilization, according to their religious or legal beliefs. The report also underlined the adoption of Florida legislation in 2022, protecting worship homes against discriminatory treatment during pandemics and other emergencies.

Florida was crowned number one among the 50 states in the religious classification of the First Liberty Institute in 2025. (Getty Images; Istock)

“Florida has several n ° 1 rankings, leading the nation in education, economics and tourism – and now, Florida is 1 in religious freedom,” said Florida Governor Ron Desantis. “We are grateful for this recognition of the First Liberty Institute, which has just appointed Florida the number one state of the country to protect religious freedom.”

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“This year’s conclusions clearly show that the States taking legislative measures go ahead,” added Kelly Shackelford, president, chief executive and chief advisor to First Liberty. “Under the direction of Governor Desantis, Florida has adopted real laws that protect real people, and now the state of Sunshine is the national leader in the protection of religious freedom. It is time for more states to follow the example of Governor Desantis and to adopt strong laws on religious freedom.”

While Florida was indicated in the RLS index as an “exemplary”, the report indicated that religious freedom became more and more “tenuous” in the blue state of Illinois. The downward descent for the country of Lincoln was not because the state has repealed the protections, but mainly because it did not implement new protections than other states, such as Florida, have, according to the report.

According to the RLS 2025 report, almost all Illinois protections occurred when the state was more conservative between 1934 and 1998.

While Florida was indicated in the RLS index as an “exemplary”, the report indicated that religious freedom became more and more “tenuous” in the blue state of Illinois. (istock)

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In an effort to demonstrate the dangers of “complacency”, the report also underlined Colorado when the Republicans “had regularly” control of the two chambers of the legislature of the State. The environment was friendly towards religious freedom, but the legislators did not do much in terms of protections, according to the report. He said that the state’s complacency had contributed to 43rd place in Colorado in the RLS 2024 ranking and the 34th arrival in the 2025 ranking published on Monday.

The First Liberty Institute said that the results of the 2024 elections can give some people the idea that the transmission of laws protecting religious freedom is not as important, but the conservative Christian legal group warned that this did not have to do any cases “, noting that the data show that the passage of such laws is just as critical in the midst of a” favorable “political climate.