Florida was declared the top state for religious freedom in the nation this week — not by a government agency or academic institution, but by a prominent legal group at the forefront of the Christian conservative movement.
The symbolic distinction was announced Monday during an event at New College of Florida, where DeSantis appeared onstage with New College President Richard Corcoran and Kelly Shackelford, president of First Liberty Institute.
Shackelford described Florida as a beacon for religious freedom, saying “every citizen and business in Florida can know that they have the most religious freedom protections.”
DeSantis echoed that sentiment, and warned that religious liberty is under threat: “Religious freedom,” he said, “has really been under assault in recent years.”
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Both framed the recognition as a win for people of all faiths.
But the designation, billed as a broad endorsement of religious liberty, came from a group critics say has advanced a much narrower vision. First Liberty, a Texas-based nonprofit, has become one of the country’s most influential forces in reshaping First Amendment law — filing dozens of lawsuits eroding the wall separating church and state.
Its presence in Florida underscores how the state has become a key battleground in that fight.
In response to a request for comment, a spokesperson for New College wrote that the school “was honored to host an event recognizing Florida and the great work of Governor Ron DeSantis for being the best state in the country for religious freedom,” adding that they did not inquire as to guests’ beliefs. “We will always champion freedom whether religious, academic, or otherwise.”
Neither First Liberty nor DeSantis’s office responded to requests for comment.
Much of First Liberty’s influence stems from its courtroom victories — and the legal arguments it has brought before the conservative U.S. Supreme Court. From the schoolhouse to the statehouse, the group’s cases reflect a broader push to redefine religious freedom in ways that increasingly favor Christianity in government and public life.
In 2022, First Liberty secured a U.S. Supreme Court victory for a Washington football coach disciplined for leading his athletes in prayer at midfield during a game. The same year, the group won another case at the nation’s highest court, which ruled that states with voucher programs must allow those public funds to go toward private religious schools.
The group also has targeted Florida policies it views as restricting religious expression. It brought a case challenging the Florida High School Athletic Association’s decision to bar Christian schools from delivering prayers over the loudspeaker at a championship game. After a federal appeals court sided with the association, First Liberty asked the U.S. Supreme Court to consider the case. It is still pending.
After the Supreme Court in 2018 ruled ambiguously in the famous case of a Colorado baker who refused to design a wedding cake for a gay couple on religious grounds, First Liberty followed up with litigation – this time on behalf of an Oregon cake shop.
The long-running legal battle has become a cultural flashpoint in the national debate over religious liberty and LGBTQ+ rights.
“They’re one of the most influential Christian nationalist legal outfits in the country,” said Andrew Seidel, a constitutional attorney who has focused on First Amendment cases and serves as vice president of communications for Americans United for Separation of Church and State.
Seidel said he sees cases like the ones First Liberty pursues as part of a broader strategy to elevate religious — and specifically Christian — belief over other individual liberties.
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First Liberty’s roots and relationships offer further insight into the ideology guiding its work.
An earlier iteration of the organization was housed under the group Free Markets Foundation, a Texas-based organization that organized conservative pastors and worked closely with the anti-LGBTQ evangelical group Focus on the Family.
Shackelford has also served in a leadership role at the Center for National Policy, a secretive conservative group known for connecting donors to far-right activists and politicians.
This year, he was appointed to serve on Donald Trump’s Religious Liberty Commission.
According to First Liberty’s most recently available tax filings, during the 2023-2024 calendar year the group brought in more than $22 million in revenue.
Seidel’s concerns have found resonance along the Suncoast, where far-right groups have established a foothold and where recent moves by state leaders have blurred traditional lines between religion and government.
In 2023, as DeSantis overhauled New College’s leadership and began reshaping the small public liberal arts college into a conservative institution, his then-chief of staff, James Uthmeier, described the transformation as an opportunity to build a “Hillsdale of the South” — a reference to the conservative Christian college in Michigan.
Among those in attendance at this week’s New College event was Sarasota pastor Brian Gibbs, who before the 2024 election told his congregation to prepare for violence and who describes Christian conservatives as warriors in a spiritual battle against America’s enemies.
Local watchdogs say that movement has spurred outrage.
Richard Cannarelli, who leads Suncoast Citizens for Separation of Church and State, told Suncoast Searchlight he’s seen a surge of interest in the issue from Sarasota residents across the political spectrum. Earlier this year, his group organized a town hall on Christian nationalism in Venice — and the turnout, he said, surprised him.
“I expected maybe 100 people,” Cannarelli said, “but when 230 people showed up, I knew we had hit a nerve.”
“We are a nation of multiple religious faiths and many people who have no faith at all,” Cannarelli added. “So far, the separation of church and state has protected that – but the Supreme Court and the government are trying, under the guise of religious freedom, [to tear] down the wall of separation of church and state.”
This story was produced by Suncoast Searchlight, a nonprofit newsroom of the Community News Collaborative serving Sarasota, Manatee, and DeSoto counties. Learn more at suncoastsearchlight.org.
