Michigan and Washington are the worst states in the nation for protecting the freedoms of religious nonprofits, while Alabama and Kansas lead as the most “faith-friendly,” according to a recent report from Napa Legal Institute.
The “Faith & Freedom Index,” released last month, ranked all 50 states and Washington, D.C., based on 15 legal factors affecting faith-based nonprofits, including regulatory burdens, charitable registration laws, and constitutional and employment protections. Each state received a percentage score reflecting its overall strength in two key categories — religious freedom and regulatory freedom — with higher percentages indicating stronger legal protections and fewer barriers.
Alabama and Kansas topped the list with overall scores of 72% and 69%, respectively. The report credited both states’ constitutions with providing “stronger protections for religious free exercise or worship” than even the First Amendment. Indiana (68%), Texas (65%), and Mississippi (63%) rounded out the top five.
By contrast, Michigan (31%) and Washington (35%) ranked at the very bottom, alongside Massachusetts (37%), West Virginia (38%), Illinois (38%), and Maryland (38%).
The report said Michigan and Washington are “among the worst places to operate a faith-based nonprofit,” pointing to laws that impose heavy regulatory burdens and broad nondiscrimination requirements without few religious exemptions.
“From Catholic priests in Washington to concerned parents in Montgomery County, Maryland — incidents from two of the lowest scoring states on the 2025 Faith and Freedom Index — too many Americans have been forced to spend precious time and money litigating issues that should never have gone to court in the first place,” Napa Legal Senior Counsel Frank DeVito said in a press release.
While many Republican-led states scored high, the report noted that results did not fall neatly along partisan lines. For example, New York scored slightly better than Alaska, Tennessee, and South Carolina in certain categories.
DeVito said the findings underscore the urgent need for state-level safeguards, especially as faith-based organizations face growing legal and cultural hostility in some regions.
“The many religious freedom attacks over the past few years are chilling reminders that without staunch state-level protections, ordinary Americans will suffer,” he said, “regardless of how supportive the current administration may be.”
DeVito concluded that lawmakers have a window of opportunity under the Trump administration, which has championed religious liberty, to “add protections, strengthen existing state laws, or repeal harmful ones.”
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