Announcing RLS 2025’s Runner-Up State: Montana

Montana has successfully climbed the leaderboard in this year’s Religious Liberty in the States (RLS) index, ranking second by protecting 71 percent of the religious safeguards tracked in the 2025 index. Since placing 24th with a score of 40 percent in the inaugural 2022 RLS report, Big Sky Country has continually climbed in the rankings. In 2023, Montana ranked 20th (46 percent), and by 2024, it made an impressive leap to 3rd place (66 percent). Montana’s 30.8 percent increase since 2022 makes it the most improved state throughout the RLS project.

The Treasure State’s dramatic rise illustrates the two primary ways a state’s RLS score can increase year over year: by passing new legislation and by already having relevant laws in place when new safeguards are added to the index.

Expanded Health Care Conscience Protections

Montana’s lawmakers passed House Bill 303, known as the Medical Ethics and Diversity Act, which took effect in October 2023. This legislation marks a significant advancement in the state’s legal protections for religious liberty, particularly in the area of healthcare. HB 303 safeguards the conscience rights of medical practitioners, health care institutions, and payers by allowing them to decline participation in services such as abortion, sterilization, euthanasia, and other procedures that violate their sincerely held religious or moral beliefs.

This law is especially consequential for Montana’s score in the 2025 Religious Liberty in the States (RLS) index because health care conscience protections are one of the most heavily weighted safeguard categories in the index. The 2025 report includes 47 legal protections grouped into 20 safeguards, and among them, health-care related items account for a substantial portion. By enacting HB 303, Montana went from having relatively limited protections in this area to earning one of the highest possible scores for health care conscience laws.

Religious Liberty in Daily Life

Montana permits minors to consume alcohol as part of a religious ceremony (such as communion) without legal penalty. This safeguard ensures that clergy and congregations can observe religious rites involving sacramental wine without fear of criminal liability, and it reflects respect for long-standing religious traditions across faith communities.

The state also has several important protections that illustrate how religious liberty extends beyond the walls of houses of worship and into the broader cultural, educational, and familial life of its residents. For example, the state allows parents to exempt their children from immunization requirements on religious grounds. This protection affirms the right of families to make medical decisions for their children in alignment with their religious convictions. It is also one of six states that ensures that current or prospective foster parents may not be forced to affirm, accept, or support any government policy regarding sexual orientation or gender identity that conflicts with the parent’s sincerely held religious or moral beliefs.

Looking Ahead

Montana’s success story should serve as a roadmap for states that want to strengthen protections for religious believers of all kinds. Whether policymakers are working to support health care workers, clergy, students, or families, the RLS index highlights actionable areas for reform.

With Montana securing the second-place spot, we will see whether it can surpass Florida for its first-place ranking in next year’s report.

Want to see where your state ranks? Check out the RLS index state ranking or access the report to learn more.