Full Breakdown
Maine Supreme Judicial Court Upholds Custody Order Barring Mother from Church Attendance
9/3/2026, 2:10:55 AM
Core Decision and Immediate Impact
On September 1, the Maine Supreme Judicial Court unanimously affirmed a lower-court order that bars Emily A. Bickford from taking her 13-year-old daughter to Calvary Chapel in Westbrook, Maine, and from reading the Bible or other religious material to her. The ruling gives Matthew A. Bradeen, the child’s father, sole authority to decide whether the daughter may attend that congregation. The court said the restriction is rooted in concerns for the child’s emotional well-being, not hostility toward Christianity.
Background & Context
The dispute stems from a December 2024 district-court order issued amid a broader custody battle. Bradeen objected to his daughter’s participation in the evangelical church, alleging that sermons about the rapture triggered anxiety and panic attacks. An expert sociologist testified that the church functioned as a “closed social system,” a characterization the court later described as a shorthand for “cult.” While the parents retain shared decision-making on most religious matters, exclusive control over attendance at Calvary Chapel was given to Bradeen.
Legal Reasoning
The Maine Supreme Judicial Court concluded that the lower court’s findings were based on evidence that the child was exposed to messages portraying Bradeen as an “enemy” and that such exposure risked alienating her from her father. The opinion held that “strict scrutiny” ordinarily applied to parental-rights challenges involving religion does not extend to the allocation of those rights between parents. Instead, the court applied the “best-interest of the child” standard, determining that limiting the mother’s religious activities was justified by the specific factual context.
Official Statements & Responses
Liberty Counsel, representing Bickford, argues that the order infringes on her First and Fourteenth Amendment rights and that the state is overstepping its authority in matters of religious upbringing. The organization announced plans to petition the U.S. Supreme Court, asserting that the decision threatens nationwide parental-rights and religious-freedom jurisprudence.
Bradeen’s counsel, Michelle King, described the ruling as “well thought-out and reasoned,” noting that the case was expected to attract appellate attention.
Data & Statistics
- Child’s age: 13 years.
- Order in effect: nearly two years.
- Father’s claim: the child experienced anxiety and panic attacks after exposure to sermons discussing the rapture.
What’s Next
Liberty Counsel intends to file a petition for certiorari with the U.S. Supreme Court, arguing that the Maine ruling conflicts with existing precedent on religious liberty and parental rights.
Verbatim Quotes
- “A Christian mom in Maine has been prohibited from taking her 13-year-old daughter to church or even read the Bible to her for nearly two years — not even for an Easter or Christmas service or a Bible study,” — Liberty Counsel
- “Parents have a fundamental constitutional right to direct the upbringing of their children, including in matters of religion,” — Justice Valeria Stanfill
- “This opinion rejects the First Amendment right of a fit parent to raise her child consistent with her Christian faith,” — Mat Staver, Liberty Counsel founder
