Religious freedom, a pillar of US society: 'Still being protected after 250 years'

Religious freedom remains a pillar of society. A report from the Becket firm showed that Americans show growing support for bringing faith into the public realm, including at work and on social media.

The Religious Freedom Index 2025 showed an increase in support for religious freedom, which reached a historic 71% support. According to the report's authors, consulted by VOZ, this record score was due to growing support for freedom on several key items in their questionnaire, but most notably that relating to the freedom to express and share religion in public: it was the most prominent factor in this year's improvement, up 3 points from last year.

For the researchers, religious freedom remains one of the country's fundamental rights and an essential pillar of a pluralistic democracy. This perspective takes on special relevance at a time when the nation is approaching the commemoration of its 250 years of foundation. In that context, they noted that assessing public attitudes toward religious freedom is, in essence, measuring the health of society. "It is also helpful for policymakers, activists, journalists, religious leaders, and the public at large to have an informed understanding of our culture."

"As we discussed in this year’s Index, religious freedom is a topic that unifies all the diverse elements of our culture together in support of one of our founding principles. It is heartening to see these principles still being protected after 250 years," they added.

"Americans increasingly think that religious liberty isn’t limited to only what happens in houses of worship. They want a public square where people of all faiths can live and speak consistently with their beliefs without fear of punishment. It isn’t entirely clear what all the cultural factors driving this are, but what is clear is that increasing support among young Americans (Gen Z) has helped drive this year’s higher score in Religious Sharing," the report's authors noted.

The report's findings also indicated that religious freedom remains broadly popular among all Americans, regardless of age.

"For instance, this year Gen Z had the strongest support for our Religion in Action dimension, showing that they strongly value the fundamental rights of sharing and expressing one’s faith, and understand that Americans do not leave their religious beliefs behind when they go to the workplace."