According to Judge Jennifer Nofsinger of Maine’s District Court, Emily Bickford isn’t allowed to take her 11-year-old to church on Sunday or any other day of the week.
Emily shares custody of her daughter with Matthew Bradeen. Emily and Matthew have never married. Up until last year, Jennifer had been taking the young girl to Calvary Chapel in Portland, Maine.
According to court filings, Bradeen reviewed the church’s website and sermons and objected to the fact that pastors there are teaching “verse by verse, chapter by chapter.” Only the girl’s father didn’t stop there. To try and bolster his case and amplify and legitimize his objections, he hired Dr. Jana Lalich – a California sociology professor and self-proclaimed “expert on cults” to try and convince the judge that his daughter was being psychologically harmed each time she stepped into the church.
It would seem that Dr. Lalich’s testimony contending that Calvary Chapel was a “cultic” organization helped convince Judge Nofsinger to award veto power on any religious service attendance to the father.
After the ruling, Emily Bickford retained the help of our friends at Liberty Counsel, who have now appealed the decision up to the Maine Supreme Judicial Court. At a hearing last week, attorneys for Liberty Counsel argued that the decision stripping Emily Bickford of her parental authority violated her constitutional rights under the First and 14th Amendments. They’ve asked the state’s highest court to overturn the lower court’s ruling and return to Emily what was unconstitutionally taken away.
The First Amendment protects freedom of religion. While the 14th Amendment doesn’t explicitly mention religious freedom, its “liberty clause” prevents states from restricting individual religious liberty.
In talking about the case, Mathew Staver, Senior Pastor, Founder and Chairman of Liberty Counsel, was blunt. “Calvary Chapel is not a cult,” he stated. “This custody order banning a mother from taking her child to a Christian church because of its biblical teachings regarding marriage and human sexuality violates the First Amendment. The custody order cannot prohibit the mother from taking her daughter to church. The implications of this order pose a serious threat to religious freedom.”
In a filing with the Maine Supreme Judicial Court, attorneys for Liberty Counsel elaborated: “Contending that [the mother’s] religious beliefs, which include prayer, reading the Bible, attending a mainstream Christian church that teaches from the Bible, that teaches there is a path to salvation, and that believes in objective truth is psychologically harmful to a minor is, quite simply, outside the realm of judicial authority. The order explicitly…forces the mother to remain away from church against her will, punishes the mother for professing certain religious beliefs, and punishes the mother for church attendance solely on the basis of the religious beliefs that are professed at that church.”
In court, Staver pointed out the sweeping nature and dangerous precedent that Judge Nofsinger’s ruling sets if it’s allowed to stand. By insinuating that a mainstream Christian church is a “cult,” what would stop countless other aggrieved parents from similarly stepping in to harass and bar their “ex” from taking a child to church?
During last week’s hearing, there were some hopeful signs pointing in Emily’s favor. Asked Justice Catherine Connors of Bradeen’s attorney, “Is it your position that this decision doesn’t show hostility to the mother’s religion?” The lawyer was unmoved and undeterred, replying, “That’s absolutely my position, your honor. This decision was very well reasoned. It was grounded in fact.”
“Doesn’t it kind of reference the mother’s religion as a cult?” Connors pressed. “The judge didn’t make a finding that the mother’s religion was a cult,” the attorney stated. “She made a finding that that’s what the expert found.”
Couples embroiled in custody battles and split-living situations face a myriad of challenges. It’s a trying time for the adults but an especially bewildering experience and season for the children caught in the middle. In the midst of the chaos, regular attendance at a biblically based church can provide much needed peace, stability and eternal perspective.
We pray that Maine’s high court will recognize and acknowledge that Emily Bickford’s constitutional rights should permit her to take her daughter to church.
