Maine’s highest court has ruled that a father can prevent his daughter from attending a Christian church with her mother, rejecting the mother’s argument that the restriction violates her First Amendment rights.
The Maine Supreme Judicial Court unanimously upheld a lower court’s custody order in Emily A. Bickford v. Matthew A. Bradeen, a case involving divorced parents who disagree over their daughter’s religious upbringing.
At the center of the dispute is Bickford’s attendance at Calvary Chapel Greater Portland, a theologically conservative Christian congregation. Bradeen objected to his daughter attending the church with her mother and was ultimately given authority over whether the child could participate in its services, gatherings or events.
Chief Justice Valeria Stanfill, writing for the court, acknowledged that parents have constitutional protections when it comes to raising their children but concluded that those protections operate differently when two parents share those rights.
“Parents have a fundamental constitutional right to direct the upbringing of their children, including in matters of religion,” Stanfill wrote. “Importantly, however, the parents share that right.”
The court said allocating decision-making authority to one parent “inherently limits the authority of the other” but does not necessarily violate either parent’s constitutional rights. Instead, Maine courts must allocate parental responsibilities according to the best interests of the child.
The case has drawn particular attention because testimony in the lower court compared Calvary Chapel to a “cult.” California sociology professor Janja Lalich, who testified as an expert on cults, characterized the church as a “closed social system.”
The Maine Supreme Court rejected Bickford’s argument that the lower court had displayed hostility toward Christianity, noting that the judge used the term “cult” only when summarizing Lalich’s testimony.
Bickford’s attorneys, however, contend the lower court went much further by judging the substance of the church’s beliefs.
“The district court denigrated Bickford’s religious beliefs as ‘cultic’ and psychologically harmful, and then used that characterization to strip Bickford of her fundamental right to direct the religious upbringing of her daughter,” her appeal stated.
According to Liberty Counsel, Bradeen’s objections included the church’s verse-by-verse Bible teaching on subjects such as eternal damnation, demons, fallen angels and spiritual warfare. Bickford’s attorneys also said the lower court relied on testimony describing the church’s sermons as containing “hateful rhetoric,” including alleged homophobia, disdain for science and hostility toward public schools.
Liberty Counsel Founder and Chairman Mat Staver, who argued Bickford’s case, said the organization now plans to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to intervene.
“This opinion rejects the First Amendment right of a fit parent to raise her child consistent with her Christian faith,” Staver said, calling the ruling “a serious threat to religious freedom.”
“This opinion goes against other state court decisions involving custody in the context of religious free exercise rights and ignores precedent from the U.S. Supreme Court,” he added. “We will ask the High Court to take this case and overrule the decision.”
Attorney Michelle King, who represents Bradeen, defended the Maine Supreme Court’s decision as “well thought-out and reasoned” and said she had anticipated the dispute could ultimately reach the nation’s highest court.
If the U.S. Supreme Court takes the case, the custody battle could become a broader test of how courts balance the religious liberty rights of parents when they disagree over a child’s faith and upbringing.