Arkansas has ranked as the best state for defending religious liberty, according to a study by First Liberty Institute.
First Liberty’s Center for Religion, Culture & Democracy has released its fifth annual Religious Liberty in the States (RLS) index. Arkansas reached a religious safeguard score of 89.7% and Tennessee an 85%, placing them in the “excellent” rating category. No other states in past reports have scored above the 80% “excellent” mark. Arkansas also placed first in the study for the first time.
At the state capitol, Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders announced the study’s results.
“Religious liberty is America’s First Freedom, and Arkansas is leading the nation in protecting it,” Sanders said. “Our rights come from God, not government, and every American should be free to live according to their faith and conscience. We’ll continue defending that freedom and ensuring the Natural State remains the best place in the country to live, work, and worship.”
Franklin Graham recently commended Gov. Huckabee Sanders for state-wide actions banning LGBTQ materials—that often violate school staff, parents’ and students’ religious beliefs—from the classroom.
“Under her leadership, the state of Arkansas has been turning their education system around. Student test scores and proficiency have gone up significantly,” Franklin posted on Facebook. “They’ve raised the minimum teacher salary and created performance-based bonuses, and they have taken the important step of banning classroom teachings related to critical race theory, gender identity, sexual orientation, and sexually explicit materials. I hope other states will follow their example. She said, ‘Seeing kids achieve and do better and be successful, that’s not a red state or blue state issue. That’s something everybody should care about.’”
First Liberty Institute’s 2026 RLS index stands as the only report that comprehensively compares how states protect religious liberty through laws.
States are assigned a percentage score based on 50 legal protections within six categories, including government, healthcare, economic life, religious life and family and education. The report groups the 50 protections into 20 safeguards, which First Liberty averages to calculate the index scores.
Florida, ranked third at 76.9% and Montana was fourth at 71.3% followed by Illinois at 70.4%, placing the states in the “competent” category, which is 55% to 79%.
The five lowest ranking states were California 30.2%; West Virginia 30.0%; Michigan 27.1%; Vermont 26.7%; and New York 26.5%. These ranked in the “poor” category, the lowest ranking in which states rank below 40%.
Kelly Shackelford, president, CEO, and chief counsel at First Liberty, commended Gov. Huckabee Sanders for her advocacy for religious liberty.
“Religious liberty is best protected when leaders are willing to act before the rights of people of faith are threatened,” said Shackelford. “Gov. Sanders and Arkansas lawmakers have taken that responsibility seriously, adopting strong protections that help ensure Arkansans can live and work according to conscience. Arkansas’s top ranking is a well-earned recognition, and it should motivate leaders across the country to strengthen religious liberty protections in their own states.
In First Liberty’s 2025 index, Florida ranked first followed by Montana, Illinois, Ohio and Mississippi. The lowest ranked states were Vermont, Nebraska, Michigan, Wyoming and West Virginia.
Paul D. Mueller, associate director of the project, also spoke at the state capitol announcement.
“This year’s changes show that the religious liberty in the states index is dynamic by design,” said Mueller. “Arkansas moved from sixth to first, and Tennessee moved from tenth to second, because both states adopted meaningful protections for religious liberty. With this index, citizens and legislators can see where their state is doing well, where it still has room to improve, and which existing laws could help them better protect the right of conscience.”
Arkansas’ high ranking stems largely from the state’s decision to enact H.B. 1615. Under the law, individuals and institutions are safeguarded from being required to participate in wedding ceremonies to which they have religious objections. Tennessee also made significant gains after adopting a strong medical conscience law, moving from tenth to second place in the rankings.
First Liberty added three legal protections within its ranking system since the 2025 index. The protections include safeguards for individuals who refuse to join labor unions due to their religious beliefs, laws that safeguard people from religious discrimination in public higher education, and medical conscience safeguards on individuals who believe participating in genetic counseling violates their beliefs.
