Maine High Court Upholds Mother's Religious Restrictions
Maine High Court Upholds Mother's Religious Restrictions
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Key Points
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The Cumberland County district court order granted Bradeen sole decision-making authority specifically over whether the child could attend Calvary Chapel Greater Portland and participate in related religious activities, while the parents still shared input on other religious organizations.
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The child reportedly experienced fear and anxiety linked to the church’s teachings, including discussions about Heaven and Hell, with reports she asked questions about these topics; some accounts describe exposure to themes like the rapture and eternal punishment.
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Opponents, including Liberty Counsel, asserted the district court hostility toward the mother’s faith—alleging the court labeled Calvary Chapel a 'cult'—a claim the Maine Supreme Judicial Court rejected as a factor in the decision.
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Liberty Counsel has indicated it will petition the U.S. Supreme Court to hear the case, with Mat Staver arguing the ruling violates the First Amendment rights of a fit parent and should be overturned.
Maine's highest court unanimously upheld a custody order giving a father final say over his 13-year-old daughter's attendance at Calvary Chapel, a ruling that has ignited a broader battle over religious freedom and parental rights. The Post Millennial reports the Maine Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the lower court's decision, which restricts the mother, Emily Bickford, from taking her daughter to the church without the father's permission. The ruling centers on concerns that specific church teachings caused the child anxiety and emotional distress—not hostility toward Christianity itself, the court emphasized.
Liberty Counsel, a religious liberty law firm, is now preparing to challenge the decision at the U.S. Supreme Court, arguing the ruling violates the mother's First and Fourteenth Amendment rights. Yahoo News reports that Bickford intends to fight back against the court's decision. The case underscores growing tensions between parental custody orders, a parent's right to raise children in their faith, and the state's duty to protect a child's emotional wellbeing.
Church Teachings Allegedly Triggered Child's Anxiety
The daughter reportedly experienced fear and anxiety linked to Calvary Chapel's teachings about Heaven, Hell, the rapture, and eternal punishment. IBTimes notes the girl asked questions about these topics after exposure to church messages. The district court found that the specific *way* these religious concepts were communicated—often between the feuding parents—created emotional harm for the child, rather than the church's Christian teachings alone causing the distress.
Court Rejected Claims of Anti-Christian Bias
The mother's supporters claimed the district court had labeled Calvary Chapel a "cult" and showed hostility toward her Christian faith. The Maine Supreme Judicial Court firmly rejected this argument as a factor in the decision. News Center Maine reports the high court's ruling makes clear the harm concerns centered on how messages were conveyed between parents, not on the faith itself or any judicial prejudice against Christianity.
Religious Liberty Case Heads to Supreme Court
Liberty Counsel has signaled it will petition the U.S. Supreme Court to review the case. Daily Wire reports the ruling grants Matthew Bradeen sole authority over whether his daughter attends Calvary Chapel Greater Portland. Mat Staver, Liberty Counsel's founder, argues that restricting a fit parent's right to raise her child in her own faith violates core constitutional protections and should be overturned by the nation's highest court.
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