Is apostasy illegal in the United States?
Legal
There are no legal penalties for leaving a religion in the United States.
The United States is one of 4 countries classified “Legal” for apostasy — 13% of the 30 with data. (Also searched as leaving a religion.)
Source
- Taken from
- Wikipedia: Apostasy in Islam by country
- Last checked
- 7 July 2026
- How it was classified
- Classified by a language model from the source text, then checked against hand-verified reference countries.
Nearby countries
- United Kingdom
- Legal Apostasy is legal in the UK, with organizations like CEMB supporting ex-Muslims and no legal penalties for leaving Islam, though social stigma exists.
- Netherlands
- Legal Netherlands guarantees freedom of religion and expression, with no legal penalties for leaving Islam.
- Morocco
- Criminal offense Morocco's Supreme Council of Religious Scholars issued a fatwa calling for death penalty for apostasy, though it was later retracted.
- Mauritania
- Death penalty possible Article 306 of Mauritania's criminal code provides death sentence for apostasy with opportunity to repent.
- Algeria
- Criminal offense Apostasy in Algeria is illegal, with family law stating that if either spouse is an "apostate" from Islam, the marriage will be declared null and void.
- Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Criminal offense Apostasy from Islam in Bosnia and Herzegovina was punishable by death until the Edict of Toleration in 1844, after which it could result in imprisonment or deportation.
Other laws in United States
- Blasphemy Laws
- Criminal offense
- Holocaust Denial
- No specific law
- Flag Desecration
- Legal / protected speech
- Conversion Therapy
- Partial ban
Every law in the United States → · Where is apostasy illegal? →
A visual reference compiled from Wikipedia’s law-by-country articles, not legal advice. Laws change and summaries simplify — check a primary source before relying on anything here.