Maine Supreme Judicial Court Decision on Parental Rights and Church Attendance
The Maine Supreme Judicial Court decided on Tuesday against a mother who has been contesting an order that barred her from taking her child to a church in Westbrook.
Emily Bickford, the child’s mother, along with her ex-partner Matthew Bradeen, have been in a contentious legal dispute over their 12-year-old daughter’s participation at a local church, as reported by WTMW.
A district judge ruled in favor of Bradeen, asserting that certain teachings of the church could be psychologically damaging to the girl. As a result of this order, Bradeen now has the exclusive right to determine their daughter’s involvement with Calvary Chapel Church, while for any other religious organization, both parents need to discuss and share rights regarding their decisions.
In November, legal representatives indicated that the outcome of this case could have broader implications for parental rights in the U.S., according to the Standing for Freedom Center.
The Maine Supreme Judicial Court examined oral arguments in November concerning the mother’s appeal against the custody ruling that restricted her child from attending the church.
On November 12, one of Bickford’s attorneys, Mat Staver, who is the founder and chairman of Liberty Counsel, mentioned that he presented arguments at the state Supreme Court, describing the trial judge’s order as astonishing: it prevented Emily from taking her own daughter to church and allowed her ex-husband to deny the girl the chance to read the Bible or engage with any Christian teachings. This, he felt, undermined Emily’s right to raise her child according to her faith.
In their ruling, the Maine Supreme Judicial Court referred to the lower court’s decision, stating that parental rights and responsibilities regarding the child’s attendance at Calvary Chapel were solely awarded to Bradeen. However, for other religious activities, both parents are required to share responsibilities and consult on whether their daughter’s participation is in her best interest, with final authority granted to Bradeen if they cannot reach an agreement.
Staver voiced that both the mother and daughter found hope at Calvary Chapel, noting that the girl even expressed a desire to be baptized, which her father allegedly sought to prevent.
Staver emphasized that Bradeen had even brought in a former Marxist professor to label Calvary Chapel as a ‘cult,’ a claim the judge accepted. He criticized the judge for mocking Emily’s faith by using lowercase ‘god’ in the ruling and condemned them for praying over mother and child.
During the November hearing, a district court judge, previously associated with the ACLU, concluded that attending the church caused psychological harm to the girl, according to the Standing for Freedom Center.
The court also found that the child was harmed by her mother’s actions, which included exposing her to negative messages about her father that could alienate her from him. The court clarified that it had not claimed that Christian teachings were psychologically damaging, but rather that children should not be subjected to negative portrayals of a parent.
Liberty Counsel intends to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to review the case involving the parents and their child, based on the information from the WTMW report.
