It is the First Amendment of the Constitution that protects religious freedom, with the Establishment Clause and Free Exercise Clause additional safeguarding that proper.
A latest report by First Liberty Institute, the Texas-based nonprofit Christian conservative authorized group, reveals which U.S. states are making good on that promise — with others falling behind.Â
The nonprofit in contrast how the 50 states defend religious liberty by way of laws.
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The third annual “Religious Liberty in the States” report ranked the states on an index primarily based on 39 authorized provisions that states can undertake to guard religious liberty.Â
After figuring out whether or not states have the statutes, the protections are collected into 16 “safeguards,” that are averaged to provide one index rating per state.Â
The First Amendment of the Constitution protects religious freedom by prohibiting Congress from establishing a faith or interfering with its free train. (spxChrome)
New “safeguards” this yr embrace absentee voting, health-care provisions, medical insurance mandates, marriage and wedding ceremony points, 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,” mentioned Paul Mueller, affiliate director of the mission, in a press launch.
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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 launched its annual “Religious Liberty in the States” report, which ranked Illinois because the best state for defending religious liberty. (iStock)
Illinois is once more thought-about the No. 1 state for religious liberty on this report, however its rating slipped from 85% to 80% attributable to its failure to undertake new protections to stop homes of worship from closing, the group famous.
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Following the Prairie State, Florida, Montana and Arkansas are listed among the many high.
Mississippi capped off the highest 5 best states.Â
First Liberty Institute launched its third annual “Religious Liberty in the States” report. (Ildar Abulkhanov)
“Now is the time for each state to do all they’ll to guard our first freedom,” mentioned Kelly Shackelford, First Liberty Institute’s president, CEO and chief counsel, within the launch.
“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 on the backside by First Liberty are California, ranked forty eighth, and Alaska, at forty ninth place.
The worst state for religious liberty primarily based on the report is West Virginia at 25%.
First Liberty Institute famous that the state’s rating rose from the earlier yr from 14%, because of the adoption of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.
The worst state for religious liberty primarily based on the brand new report is West Virginia, in response to a First Liberty Institute report. (spxChrome; Ildar Abulkhanov)
West Virginia’s Gov. Jim Justice, a Republican, signed the legislation in March prohibiting the state from considerably burdening somebody’s constitutional proper to freedom of faith except doing so “is essential to further a compelling governmental interest,” the Associated Press reported on the time.
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First Liberty famous on its web site, “Many states are making big improvements, and the data clearly shows it. But there’s still plenty of room for progress.”
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 extra remark.
