Story highlights More than 200 bills were introduced nationally in 2016

More than 80 percent of evangelicals voted for Donald Trump

Washington (CNN) The ACLU expects more religious freedom bills to be introduced in 2017 than ever before following the election of Donald Trump.

More than 200 bills were introduced nationally in 2016 that the ACLU characterizes as discriminating against gay people in the name of religious freedom.

"We expect the volume to continue to rise in 2017, both because we have more conservative state governments than in the past, and also since our side defeated an overwhelming majority of bills in 2016," ACLU Advocacy and Policy Counsel Eunice Rho told CNN.

While the civil rights group acknowledged that not all religious bills explicitly target LGBT Americans, there's some concern at the ACLU that legislation aimed at religious freedom will allow Americans to discriminate against gay people in same-sex marriages.

"In addition to these bills, we also anticipate an increase in volume of bills targeting transgender people," Rho said.

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