Napa Legal Institute, based in Washington, DC, recently released its first annual “Faith and Freedom Index” which provides a breakdown of how each US state protects religious Freedom and ranks them accordingly, Fox News reports.

Each state was analyzed according to 14 factors. This included such things as the treatment of churches during the pandemic compared to non-religious businesses and if the states have passed laws protecting religious freedom.

The study determined that Alabama at 86% and Texas at 70% had the highest scores for religious liberty. Alabama was also the only state that scored over 80%.

The Top Ten states supporting religious freedom, including their score:

1. Alabama – 86%,
2. Texas – 70%,
3. Mississippi – 67%,
4. Kentucky – 64%,
5. New Mexico – 60%,
6. Kansas – 60%,
7. New Hampshire – 56%,
8. Georgia – 55%,
9. Florida – 52%, and
10. Indiana – 52%.

Meanwhile, Maryland and Nevada scored the lowest of all the states in terms of religious freedom. Napa described the two as “states with only weak and ambiguous protections for faith-based nonprofits’ religious freedom.”

Below is a list of the ten states with the lowest religious liberty scores:

1. Nevada – 18%,
2. Maryland – 20%
3. Michigan – 22%
4. Vermont – 23%,
5. Wisconsin – 26%,
6. Massachusetts – 26%,
7. Maine – 27%,
8. Wyoming – 29%,
9. California – 29%, and
10. Hawaii – 29%.

Click here to find out your state’s score in terms of religious liberty.

READ: Alabama, Texas rank highest in nation for religious, regulatory freedom; Michigan, Nevada among worst: Study AND Unprecedented Index Scores States’ Friendliness to Faith-based Orgs