The Maine Supreme Court ruled that a mother cannot take her 13-year-old daughter to church and cannot “expose” her to any “religious philosophy or the Bible in general” without the approval of the daughter’s father. The mother, Emily Bickford, is seeking an intervention from the U.S. Supreme Court.
The Maine Supreme Court backed a lower court ruling which concluded that Bickford, who has primary custody over her daughter, Ava, is a fit parent—except in religious instruction.
In December 2024, the Portland District Court ruled that Ava’s father, Matthew Bradeen, would have full control over all religious attendances, including “the right to make final decisions regarding [the daughter’s] participation in other churches and religious organizations.” The court ruled that there had been “no showing of harm to [the child] associated with a belief system that is rooted in the Bible” but found issue with the Biblical teachings of eternal salvation, Heaven, hell, angels and demons as well as teaching the Bible “verse by verse, chapter by chapter.”
Though Ava and Bickford have suggested different church options to him, Bradeen has rejected all requests since December 2024.
Under the order, Bickford has been unable to take Ava to church, any religious event or organization, or to Christmas or Easter services. Bickford is also not permitted to read the Bible or religious materials to Ava, and Ava has been barred from contacting church friends at her home church, Calvary Chapel in Portland. Bickford cannot take her to “any services, gatherings, or events associated with Calvary Chapel” and or expose her to “material, literature, video, or other messaging associated with, or created or published by, Calvary Chapel.”
Liberty Counsel, which is representing Bickford in the case, appealed the district court’s ruling. In November 2025, the case went to the Maine Supreme Court for an oral argument, and the court announced the ruling Tuesday.
Mat Staver, Liberty Counsel founder and chairman, who legally represented Bickford before the Maine Supreme Court, says the ruling is clearly unconstitutional.
“This opinion rejects the First Amendment right of a fit parent to raise her child consistent with her Christian faith,” Staver said. “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.”
The custody dispute around Ava’s religious upbringing occurred when Bradeen found out that Ava desired to be baptized. Ava, who attended Calvary Chapel Church at the time, had become a Christian in 2021. Bickford had become a Christian about 4 years earlier. Bradeen took issue with how the church taught the Scriptures and hired Dr. Janja Lalich, a sociologist recognized as an expert on cults, to testify before the court. Because the pastor spoke with authority and said the messages he spoke from Scripture was objective truth, Lalich called the church a “cultic” organization. She claimed that, because cults are branded by a charismatic leader who teaches a “transcendent belief system” that offers answers and promises “some sort of salvation,” Calvary Chapel Church was a cult.
Staver in a press release stated that Liberty Counsel “will petition the U.S. Supreme Court to ultimately decide this case.”
“And somehow the Maine Supreme Court thinks this court order does not violate her rights as a fit parent and her Free Exercise rights under the First Amendment,” Staver said. “This disappointing opinion from the Maine Supreme Court prohibits Bickford from taking her child to a Christian church because the child’s father objects to its Biblical teachings. Depriving one parent their right to instill their religious views into their child and granting sole authority to the other parent fails to give proper protection to parental rights and religious freedom under the First Amendment. The implications of this opinion pose a serious threat to religious freedom.”
Relevant Scripture: Psalm 78:4, Proverbs 22:6, Ephesians 6:4
