The COVID-19 pandemic revealed a formerly latent threat to religious freedom. Pandemic-related emergency orders often treated religious worship as “non-essential” and restricted it more severely than secular activities designated “essential.”

Learning from this mistake, state governments have begun to amend their constitutions and enact laws protecting Americans’ right to worship during times of emergency.

Our analysis of this factor is based on state constitutional provisions and statutes related to the ability of government to restrict religious exercise during a state of emergency.
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Below is a tier ranking of each state for this factor. Click on the state's name to open up its page, which provides more information on that particular state's overall score and relevant laws.