One of the things that sets the United States apart from the rest of the world is how we have enshrined religious freedom in our founding document, the Constitution, guaranteeing that individuals who are citizens of the nation can practice whatever faith they desire without fear of being persecuted by the federal government. The First Amendment is the bedrock of the Constitution and is why the Second Amendment exists.
Without having weapons in your possession, it will be all the more difficult to protect your other rights from out-of-control government. And given that governments are often run by fallible, sinful people, it’s only a matter of time before someone, or a whole lot of someones, try to strip you of your rights and political power in order to keep it for themselves.
But that’s a story for another time.
Today, we’re talking about religious liberty.
According to Fox News, a brand new report was released by First Liberty Institute, non-profit organization based in Texas, that reveals which states are the best to live in for those who prioritize the freedom to worship freely, and those that, well, need quite a bit of improvement.
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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.
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,” Paul Mueller, associate director of the project, went on to say in a press release. “Therefore, we expect states to move up (or down) in the annual index ratings based on how actively they choose to protect religious liberty.”
I bet you’re all just dying to know which state nabbed the top spot on the list. It’s probably going to come as a shock, but Illinois is considered number one for religious liberty, according to the First Liberty Institute. However, it’s score did drop a bit, down to 80 percent from its previous 85 percent. The dip is the result of the state’s failure to adopt new protections that would stop houses of worship from closing down.
After that we have Florida, Montana, and Arkansas at the top of the pile. The top five finished with Mississippi in fifth place.
Kelly Shackelford, president of the First Liberty Institute, the group’s CEO, and also its chief counsel, stated in the release that, “Now is the time for every state to do all they can to protect our first freedom.”
“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,” Shackelford added.
Okay, now that we’ve talked about the best states for religious liberty, which ones are not-so-great?
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%. 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.
Seeing California near the bottom of the list is not a bit surprising. The state has been deeply infected by an egregious, far left version of liberal thought that has become intolerant of religious beliefs, particularly Judaism and Christianity, which one might consider connected.
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.”
In conclusion, the website said, “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.”