Mat Staver, the founder of Christian legal advocates Liberty Counsel asks: Can a mum be prohibited from taking her daughter to church?
Absolutely not, he answers — except in the US state of Maine.
That’s where solo Christian mum Emily Bickford is bound by a custody order preventing her from taking her 12-year-old daughter to church, even for weddings, funerals, Christmas and Easter.
She cannot read the Bible with daughter Ava or allow her to have contact with Christians at school or in the community.
JUDGE HANDS RESPONSIBILITY FOR 12-YEAR-OLD’S FAITH TO PART-TIME DAD.
A judge ruled that while Emily is perfectly fit to be the primary caregiver, she cannot look after Ava’s upbringing in relation to faith “because she’s a Christian.”
He handed that responsibility to her father who only has visitation rights and took the mother to court when Ava told him she was going to be baptised.
Presumably, he’s an atheist because the court heard the father considered Calvary Chapel’s biblical teachings as “psychologically detrimental” to his daughter because it teaches the Bible, “verse by verse,” including descriptions of hell, demons, and spiritual warfare.
CHRISTIAN MUM BANNED FROM ALLOWING ANY CHRISTIAN CONTACT FOR HER DAUGHTER
Emily and Ava attended Calvary Chapel Portland from May 2021 to December 2024 when this order was issued.
Since then, Ava’s dad has denied Emily’s ability to take her daughter to any church whatsoever.
Mr. Staver argues: “The implications of this unconstitutional custody order pose a serious threat to religious freedom.”
“The First Amendment does not allow for this blatant and overt hostility towards religious beliefs, and this unlawful order cannot stand.”
HIGHER COURT WEIGHS UP WHETHER LOWER COURT OVERSTEPPED ITS REMIT
Emily Bickford with the support of Liberty Counsel has appealed the ruling and ten months since the custody order, the Maine Supreme Judicial Court heard oral arguments last week in what’s seen as a battle between judicial authority and parental rights.
The state’s high court is currently weighing up whether the Portland District Court overstepped its remit when it barred the child from having any contact with Christianity.
According to Liberty Counsel, Emily Bickford and Ava’s father, Matthew Bradeen, never married.
Bickford maintained primary custody of Ava, while Bradeen had visitation rights.
DAUGHTER’S BAPTISM PLANS ENRAGES FATHER WHO TAKES LEGAL ACTION
After attending Calvary Chapel for three years, Ava decided to be baptised.
She shared the exciting news with her father which in retrospect was a mistake, because it reportedly enraged her Dad.
Liberty Counsel contends that he found “an American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) judge” and “flew in a Marxist former sociology professor from California” to testify that Calvary Chapel or any Bible-believing churches, for that matter, are “cults” that are “psychologically detrimental.”
That convinced the Portland judge to rule that Emily could not take her daughter to any church unless the father approved of it, which was never.
CUSTODY ORDER BANS 12-YEAR-OLD FROM ANY CHRISTIAN CONTACT
Liberty Counsel claims that the order is so broad that if enforced, it can prohibit Ava from associating with any of her church friends or any member of Calvary Chapel.
If she meets new friends and they decide to attend the church, she would have to cut ties with them.
Ava is not allowed to have contact with any religious organisation, or read the Bible or religious literature.
“Ava wants to attend church and be with her Sunday school friends,” said Mat Staver.
“But this custody order has completely cut her off from Calvary and her friends, and from growing her Christian faith.”
‘THIS AFFECTS THE FAMILIES OF ALL CHRISTIAN CHILDREN”
“This has been devastatingly heart-wrenching for both Emily and Ava since December,” Mr. Staver added.
Emily Bickford is pushing back against the court’s order, contending that the ruling violates her parental rights.
Liberty Counsel is seeking a reversal of the order and restoration of Emily’s First Amendment right to pass on her religious beliefs to her child.
“It affects not only our family, but the families of all Christian children,” the mother told reporters after last week’s hearing.
THE ARGUMENT AGAINST THE ORDER BANNING GIRL’S CHRISTIAN CONTACT.
Mat Staver argued before the court’s justices that the evidence presented before the lower court fell short of meeting the standard of harm necessary to make such a decision.
“There is no finding of abuse or neglect,” he noted, saying there had been one instance of anxiety and another of a panic attack and that Ava had written in a workbook that a demon image was “scary.”
“Those instances cannot amount to immediate and substantial harm, justifying this drastic change and taking away from a fit parent the right to the religious education of their child,” Mr. Staver explained.
He also argued that the order gave the father “absolute unreviewable authority to deny any kind of association” with Christian people, organisations or the Bible.
ALL PARTIES AWAIT WHAT COULD BE A LANDMARK DECISION
The Maine Supreme Court’s decision could reshape how states weigh in on parental rights, religious freedom, and expert testimony in custody disputes.
“The implications of this order pose a serious threat to religious freedom,” said Mat Staver.
The case could even end up in the US Supreme Court.
Emily Bickford said: “Ava would like to come to church. She misses her friends, and I really hope that this gets overturned.”
The ruling will be made in the coming weeks.
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