September 30, 2021
FFRF’s dynamic Congressional scoring system allows the public to see who are champions of the separation of state and church and the rights of nonbelievers. The scoring system uses real-time data to update scoring based on cosponsoring and voting on key pieces of legislation, and joining the Congressional Freethought Caucus.
Detailed explanation of scorecard calculations
All House members are awarded points for three actions: (1) sponsoring or co-sponsoring key bills that are positive for state/church separation, (2) Casting votes that favor state/church separation, and (3) joining the Congressional Freethought Caucus. The detailed scoring calculations are as follows:
Sponsorship or co-sponsorship of three key bills—the Equality Act (adding gender identity and sexual orientation as protected classes under the Civil Rights Act), the Do No Harm Act (limiting RFRA so that it cannot be used to infringe on others’ rights), and the Women’s Health Protection Act (guaranteeing access to reproductive healthcare, pre-empting religiously based anti-choice state laws)—are worth 20 points each, for 60 possible points.
Four floor votes in favor of state/church separation—to pass (1) the Equality Act, (2) the Women’s Health Protection Act, (3) the No BAN Act (prohibiting religiously based travel bans), and opposing (4) House Amendment 83 on H.R. 4502 (allowing vast Trump religious exemptions to continue )—are worth 15 points each, for 60 possible points.
NOTE: non-voting House Members (those representing Washington, D.C. and U.S territories) may receive a higher score because they automatically receive full points for all votes. This is necessary due to technological limitations, as otherwise the results would unfairly deflate scores for Members who are strong state/church champions but cannot cast House votes.
Membership in the Congressional Freethought Caucus is worth 15 points.
Thus, the total number of possible points is 135. Each House member is graded according to this criteria on a percentage basis, rounded to the nearest tenth of a percentage point—e.g. 135 points is 100%, 120 points is 88.9%, etc.
The scores are then divided into these color-coded categories:
85–100: State/church champion (green)
70–84.9: State/church supporter (yellow)
55–69.9: State/church mixed bag (orange)
0–54.9: State/church detractor (red)