USA: Report about the State of Religious Liberty by U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops
By Hans Noot, Associate director of Human Rights Without Frontiers
HRWF (27.02.2026) – On 17 February 2026, the Committee for Religious Liberty of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) published its 60-page Annual Report on the State of Religious Liberty in the United States.
The Report is divided into seven sections:
- The Role of the Committee and the Scope of the Report
- What is Religious Liberty
- Religious Liberty in Congress
- Religious Liberty and the Executive Branch
- Religious Liberty and the Supreme Court
- National Trends in Law, Culture, and Politics
- Areas of Critical Concern, Challenges and Opportunities
The report describes a complex and increasingly tense landscape for religious freedom in the United States. While acknowledging certain “opportunities” under the current administration, it underscores an alarming rise in political violence and identifies significant human rights concerns related to immigration enforcement and healthcare.
The report offers a sobering reminder that even in a constitutional system with strong formal protections, the practical enjoyment of freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) remains vulnerable to political polarization, administrative policy shifts, and targeted violence.
Here are in short the main issues covered by the report:
Escalation of Political and Anti-Religious Violence
The USCCB describes a “cycle of attack and retribution” driven by extreme political polarization. Within this context, religious communities have become increasingly exposed to acts of hostility.
A critical incident cited in the report is the mass shooting at Annunciation Catholic Church in Minneapolis during the August 2024/2025 cycle. The attack was characterized as an example of “senseless violence” directed at a religious space. The targeting of houses of worship represents not only a criminal act but also a direct assault on the collective dimension of religious freedom—the right of communities to gather safely for worship.
The report also highlights an “alarming” increase in antisemitic rhetoric and incidents across the political spectrum. Such trends pose a serious threat to religious minorities and further entrench insecurity in public religious expression. This development underscores the state’s positive obligation to ensure the security of religious communities and to counter incitement and hate-based violence effectively.
Immigration Enforcement and the Right to Worship
A substantial portion of the report addresses the impact of intensified immigration enforcement under the Trump administration on the religious rights of migrants and detainees.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) rescinded prior guidance that limited enforcement actions at so-called “sensitive locations,” including churches and hospitals. According to the USCCB, this policy shift has created a “climate of fear” among migrant communities. In response, some bishops have dispensed members of the faithful from their Sunday Mass obligation in order to reduce the risk of arrest during worship services.
The presence – or perceived presence – of enforcement operations in places of worship directly affects the ability to exercise religion without coercion or intimidation. Even absent widespread arrests in churches, the deterrent effect of such policies can substantially impair the practical accessibility of religious rites.
The report also emphasizes the right of detainees held by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to receive pastoral care and access the sacraments. It notes that federal policies are increasingly obstructing these basic religious rights. The denial or restriction of religious services in detention settings raises broader concerns about the treatment of persons deprived of liberty and the state’s duty to respect freedom of religion in custodial environments.
Government Grants and Conditions on Faith-Based NGOs
Another area of concern identified in the report relates to federal grant conditions imposed on faith-based organizations.
New DHS terms reportedly prohibit grant recipients from operating diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs and restrict the provision of services to undocumented immigrants. The USCCB argues that these conditions may force religious charities to choose between adherence to their mission and access to public funding.
Such constraints raise questions about the autonomy of religious organizations and their capacity to serve vulnerable populations in accordance with their convictions. Conditioning public funding in ways that significantly reshape or limit religiously motivated service provision can have structural implications for civil society and for the social dimension of religious freedom.
Judicial Developments: Religious Autonomy and Parental Rights
The report also notes several Supreme Court decisions that the USCCB views as strengthening religious autonomy.
In Catholic Charities Bureau v. Wisconsin, the Court unanimously protected the right of religious organizations to maintain tax-exempt status without being required to meet state-imposed criteria defining “religious behavior.” The ruling affirms the principle that civil authorities should not narrowly circumscribe what constitutes religious activity for purposes of legal recognition.
In Mahmoud v. Taylor, the Court upheld parental rights to opt children out of school curricula – specifically regarding gender identity – on the basis of religious convictions. This decision is framed as reinforcing the intersection between religious freedom and parental authority in educational contexts.
These judicial developments illustrate the continuing role of the courts in delineating the boundaries of religious liberty. At the same time, the broader environment described in the report suggests that litigation victories do not, in themselves, eliminate systemic tensions affecting religious communities.
HRWF Perspective: Fragility of Religious Freedom
The 2026 USCCB report conveys a central warning: constitutional guarantees alone do not render religious liberty immune from erosion. Political violence targeting religious spaces, rising antisemitism, restrictive immigration enforcement practices, and funding conditions affecting faith-based service providers collectively contribute to a climate in which religious freedom is contested and, at times, constrained.
The most salient human rights dimension seems to lie in the intersection between aggressive immigration enforcement and the universal right to worship without fear. When policies generate deterrence from attending religious services or obstruct access to pastoral care in detention, the practical enjoyment of FoRB is diminished.
The encroachment of political violence into sacred spaces further underscores the need for vigilance. Ensuring that individuals and communities can manifest their religion safely, publicly, and collectively remains a core human rights obligation—one that requires sustained attention even in long-established democracies.
Further reading about FORB in the USA on HRWF website
