Arkansas tops 2026 religious liberty index

Arkansas ranked first in the 2026 Religious Liberty in the States report, according to the First Liberty Institute. The state received a score of 89%, while Tennessee ranked second with a score of 85%. Both states earned an "excellent" rating, the first time any state has scored above 80% in the history of the index.

The report, produced by the Center for Religion, Culture, and Democracy, evaluates religious liberty protections across all 50 states. Researchers assigned percentage scores based on 50 legal protections organized into six categories: government, healthcare, economic life, religious life, family, and education. These protections are grouped into 20 safeguards to calculate each state's final index score.

Arkansas moved to the top of the rankings this year after placing sixth in 2025. Florida moved to third place. The report attributes the top ranking in Arkansas largely to the enactment of H.B. 1615.