RFRA States: Which States Have a Religious Freedom Restoration Act (2026)

A state Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) forces the government to clear a high legal bar before it can burden your religious practice. About 30 states have one. Here's what a RFRA actually does, which states have enacted them, and why they're among the most debated laws in America.

The short version

• A RFRA makes government use strict scrutiny before substantially burdening religious exercise.
• About 30 states have a statutory RFRA; counts vary and more protect via state constitutions.
• State RFRAs exist because the federal RFRA doesn't apply to state and local governments.
• They're powerful but not absolute — government can still win with a compelling interest.

What is a RFRA?

A Religious Freedom Restoration Act sets a test: when a government law or action substantially burdens someone's exercise of religion, the government must show the burden (1) serves a compelling interest and (2) is the least restrictive means of doing so. That's the demanding "strict scrutiny" standard — the same the courts use for core constitutional rights.

In plain terms, a RFRA tilts the playing field toward religious practice when it collides with a general rule.

Which states have a RFRA?

About 30 states have a statutory RFRA as of 2026:

Several more states reach a similar result through their own constitutions, where courts have read the state's religious-freedom clause to require strict scrutiny — so the practical map of strong free-exercise protection is even broader than the statutory list.

How a RFRA works

State RFRAs exist because of a quirk of constitutional law:

1. Congress passed the federal RFRA in 1993.
2. The Supreme Court later ruled it applies only to the federal government, not the states.
3. So states began enacting their own RFRAs to cover state and local action.

When a RFRA claim is raised, a court asks whether the government substantially burdened religion and, if so, whether the government can satisfy strict scrutiny. If it can't, the religious objector wins an exemption.

How states rank on religious liberty

A RFRA is a strong signal of how protective a state is — one input into our religious-liberty score, alongside religious exemptions and free-exercise protections:

1. 1UTUtah
   8.5A
2. 2IDIdaho
   8.5A
3. 3TXTexas
   8.5A
4. 4MSMississippi
   8.5A
5. 5INIndiana
   8.0A-
6. 6TNTennessee
   8.0A-
7. 7OKOklahoma
   8.0A-
8. 8ALAlabama
   8.0A-
9. 9ARArkansas
   8.0A-
10. 10KYKentucky
    8.0A-

See all 50 states ranked on Religious Liberty

See all 50 states ranked on religious liberty

RFRA laws, religious exemptions, and free-exercise protections — the full ranking with a map.

RFRA and the controversy

RFRAs are genuinely contested. Supporters view them as essential protection for religious minorities and individual conscience against one-size-fits-all rules. Critics worry they can be invoked to justify discrimination — a fear that dominated the national fight over Indiana's 2015 RFRA.

The reality is more measured than either side's headlines: a RFRA doesn't guarantee a religious objector wins. It only guarantees the government must justify the burden under strict scrutiny — a high bar, but one the government can still clear when the interest is strong enough.