How Florida became America's leading religious-freedom defender under DeSantis: report

The Sunshine State ranks as the nation's number one defender of religious liberty out of all 50 states, according to the First Liberty Institute's fourth annual Religious Liberty in the States (RLS) index. 

For the first time, Florida tops the national rankings, followed by Montana, Illinois, Ohio and Mississippi. Illinois and Mississippi have garnered a spot in the top five every year since the index was first released by the First Liberty Institute's Center for Religion, Culture & Democracy (CRCD) in 2022.