BREAKING New Religious Freedom Index Just Released by Becket Law Reveals 71% of Americans in Support
Becket releases seventh edition of the Religious Freedom Index 2025
Index reaches record high as Americans back faith in public life, parental rights, Supreme Court
WASHINGTON – In celebration of National Religious Freedom Day, Becket has released the seventh edition of the Religious Freedom Index, the nation’s only annual poll that tracks American opinion on religious freedom. The 2025 Index hit its highest overall score to date, demonstrating that Americans are increasingly unified in supporting religious liberty for people of all faiths. This year’s findings reveal three key trends: increased support for Americans’ freedom to bring their faith into the public square, continued backing for parents’ rights to guide their children’s education, and broad approval of Supreme Court decisions that protect religious freedom.
WASHINGTON – In celebration of National Religious Freedom Day, Becket has released the seventh edition of the Religious Freedom Index, the nation’s only annual poll that tracks American opinion on religious freedom. The 2025 Index hit its highest overall score to date, demonstrating that Americans are increasingly unified in supporting religious liberty for people of all faiths. This year’s findings reveal three key trends: increased support for Americans’ freedom to bring their faith into the public square, continued backing for parents’ rights to guide their children’s education, and broad approval of Supreme Court decisions that protect religious freedom.
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Support for religious freedom hit its highest score ever of 71 on a scale of 0 to 100. Across a variety of questions, Americans expressed rising support for the freedom to bring one’s faith into the public square.
Fifty-seven percent agree that religious freedom is inherently public and that Americans should be free to share their faith in public spaces—a five-point rise since 2020. The Index also showed continued growth in support for parents’ rights to guide their children’s education, with 73% of Americans agreeing that parents should be able to opt their children out of public-school material they believe is inappropriate, up 10 points since 2021.
“As we celebrate National Religious Freedom Day, it’s encouraging to see that a growing number of Americans reject the idea that faith belongs behind closed doors,” said Mark Rienzi, president and CEO of Becket. “The Founders recognized that our nation is stronger when we allow our neighbors to bring their beliefs into the public square without fear, even when those beliefs cut against the grain.”
This year’s Index also gauged Americans’ views of recent Supreme Court decisions involving religious freedom, and the results show strong public support for the Court’s rulings. A solid majority of Americans (62%) supported the Supreme Court’s decision in Mahmoud v. Taylor, which protected parents’ right to direct the religious upbringing of their children. Sixty-five percent of Americans also backed the Supreme Court’s ruling in Catholic Charities Bureau v. Wisconsin, in which all nine Justices rejected Wisconsin’s absurd argument that a Catholic ministry didn’t qualify for a religious tax exemption because it serves all people, regardless of faith, and does so without trying to convert them.
Other questions in the Index showed continued opposition to government restrictions on religious freedom. For example, a majority (61%) of respondents believe in protecting the confidentiality of the Sacrament of Confession from government intrusion—an issue Becket successfully defended for the Catholic Church in Washington state in Etienne v. Ferguson. Meanwhile, 75% support allowing public funding to flow to parents who choose religious schools for their children. That issue is at the heart of St. Mary Catholic Parish v. Roy, a case that Becket recently asked the Supreme Court to review, urging the Justices to affirm that Colorado may not exclude religious preschools and families from the state’s “universal” pre-K program.
The 2025 Index also highlights the broad support for religious freedom across all generations of Americans, including young Americans. In the workplace, in the public square, and in matters of policy, Gen Z’s support for religious freedom challenges assumptions that commitment to religious liberty is fading among younger Americans.
“Year after year, the Index has made clear that religious liberty remains one of our most cherished values,” said Rienzi. “Even amid deep divisions, our nation still believes that our first freedom belongs at the heart of our culture; not as a source of conflict, but as a foundation for overcoming it. The work before us is to see that freedom protected for our children and theirs in the years to come.”
The Religious Freedom Index is designed to give a broad overview of changes in American attitudes on religious freedom by surveying a nationally representative sample of 1,000 American adults each fall. The Index’s focus on core religious liberty principles, along with some of the year’s most pressing societal issues, provides insight into public sentiment on the intersection of law, religion, and culture.
Heart+Mind Strategies conducts surveying and scale construction for Becket’s Religious Freedom Index: American Perspectives on the First Amendment, using an online panel assembled by Dynata. Becket contributes its broad expertise representing people of all faiths in religious liberty cases to ensure that the polling instrument and analysis broadly reflect America’s many diverse religions and the full spectrum of religious liberty issues.
FULL TEXT Report: Report: 2025 Religious Freedom Index 01/16/2026
Fifty-seven percent agree that religious freedom is inherently public and that Americans should be free to share their faith in public spaces—a five-point rise since 2020. The Index also showed continued growth in support for parents’ rights to guide their children’s education, with 73% of Americans agreeing that parents should be able to opt their children out of public-school material they believe is inappropriate, up 10 points since 2021.
“As we celebrate National Religious Freedom Day, it’s encouraging to see that a growing number of Americans reject the idea that faith belongs behind closed doors,” said Mark Rienzi, president and CEO of Becket. “The Founders recognized that our nation is stronger when we allow our neighbors to bring their beliefs into the public square without fear, even when those beliefs cut against the grain.”
This year’s Index also gauged Americans’ views of recent Supreme Court decisions involving religious freedom, and the results show strong public support for the Court’s rulings. A solid majority of Americans (62%) supported the Supreme Court’s decision in Mahmoud v. Taylor, which protected parents’ right to direct the religious upbringing of their children. Sixty-five percent of Americans also backed the Supreme Court’s ruling in Catholic Charities Bureau v. Wisconsin, in which all nine Justices rejected Wisconsin’s absurd argument that a Catholic ministry didn’t qualify for a religious tax exemption because it serves all people, regardless of faith, and does so without trying to convert them.
Other questions in the Index showed continued opposition to government restrictions on religious freedom. For example, a majority (61%) of respondents believe in protecting the confidentiality of the Sacrament of Confession from government intrusion—an issue Becket successfully defended for the Catholic Church in Washington state in Etienne v. Ferguson. Meanwhile, 75% support allowing public funding to flow to parents who choose religious schools for their children. That issue is at the heart of St. Mary Catholic Parish v. Roy, a case that Becket recently asked the Supreme Court to review, urging the Justices to affirm that Colorado may not exclude religious preschools and families from the state’s “universal” pre-K program.
The 2025 Index also highlights the broad support for religious freedom across all generations of Americans, including young Americans. In the workplace, in the public square, and in matters of policy, Gen Z’s support for religious freedom challenges assumptions that commitment to religious liberty is fading among younger Americans.
“Year after year, the Index has made clear that religious liberty remains one of our most cherished values,” said Rienzi. “Even amid deep divisions, our nation still believes that our first freedom belongs at the heart of our culture; not as a source of conflict, but as a foundation for overcoming it. The work before us is to see that freedom protected for our children and theirs in the years to come.”
The Religious Freedom Index is designed to give a broad overview of changes in American attitudes on religious freedom by surveying a nationally representative sample of 1,000 American adults each fall. The Index’s focus on core religious liberty principles, along with some of the year’s most pressing societal issues, provides insight into public sentiment on the intersection of law, religion, and culture.
Heart+Mind Strategies conducts surveying and scale construction for Becket’s Religious Freedom Index: American Perspectives on the First Amendment, using an online panel assembled by Dynata. Becket contributes its broad expertise representing people of all faiths in religious liberty cases to ensure that the polling instrument and analysis broadly reflect America’s many diverse religions and the full spectrum of religious liberty issues.
FULL TEXT Report: Report: 2025 Religious Freedom Index 01/16/2026
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