Maine Judge Bans Child from Attending Church

Liberty Counsel stepping in to reverse this outrageous decision

Judges are forbidden from taking sides preferring one religion over another.

Liberty Counsel doesn’t usually get involved in child custody cases. But Maine District Court Judge Jennifer Nofsinger’s custody order was such a completely outrageous violation of First Amendment religious freedom rights that we had no choice but to intervene.

In my 38 years practicing law, I have NEVER seen a ruling like this!

Help us overturn the “No Church for Kids” ruling and a special Challenge Grant will DOUBLE the impact of your gift!

Twelve years ago, Elizabeth* had a child out of wedlock. She has primary custody of her daughter Andrea* and shared custody with the child’s father. All was fine — until Elizabeth gave her life to Christ. She and Andrea joined Calvary Chapel in Maine and became active members.

When Andrea told her father she wanted to be baptized, her father ran to the courts to stop her. And the judge was more than happy to accommodate him, issuing the most offensive opinion about God I have ever seen.

When we learned about this case and were asked to correct this injustice, we did not hesitate.

Judge Nofsinger BANNED our client, Elizabeth, from taking her daughter to church, because Elizabeth’s church (Calvary Chapel of Portland, ME) teaches the Bible “chapter by chapter, verse by verse,” holds sincere religious convictions based upon the Bible, and (apparently worst of all, in the judge’s opinion) has the audacity to pray in the presence of minors.

The Judge gave Andrea’s father — the same man who objected to her being baptized — the SOLE authority to choose which church Andrea would be allowed to attend, if ANY. To date, he has refused to approve ANY church.

Bible-believing Christians around the world know that raising a child in a Bible-believing and spirit-filled church builds a solid foundation of faith and an excellent roadmap for a stable and joyful life.

In her ruling, the judge declared that Elizabeth is an unquestionably fit parent — EXCEPT for the fact that she believes and obeys God’s Word.

But Judge Nofsinger’s opinion endorses the father’s anti-Christian claim that Bible-believing churches inflict “psychological harm” on children ... so she banned Elizabeth from taking her daughter to church. As if to further display her own personal animus toward our Creator, Judge Nofsinger purposefully refused to capitalize “God” throughout her entire opinion. I have never seen that in 38 years of practice!

Don’t let the ideology of anti-God judges keep kids out of church!

Judge Nofsinger’s ruling is a direct contradiction to the First Amendment and long settled case law.

The First Amendment plainly states that government may not establish a religion, nor can it prohibit people from freely exercising their religious beliefs.

If that wasn’t clear enough, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in the 1947 case Everson v. Bd. of Educ. of Ewing Tp, that:

Neither a state nor the Federal Government can ... force nor influence a person to go to or to remain away from church against his will or force him to profess a belief or disbelief in any religion. No person can be punished for entertaining or professing religious beliefs or disbeliefs, for church attendance or non-attendance.

This custody order banning a mother from taking her child to a Christian church because of its biblical teachings blatantly violates the First Amendment. If this ruling stands, it could set a dangerous precedent allowing non-believers to prevent parents from raising their children in their own faith.

Help us win this case so little Andrea can FINALLY get baptized!

A special Challenge Grant for our legal fund has been extended — which will DOUBLE the impact of every donation made today. Please, give generously so that NO COURT can ever again try to ban a parent from taking their own child to church.

Please be in prayer for Elizabeth and her daughter. Be in prayer, too, for the young girl’s father, that he might accept the love and light of our Lord Jesus Christ in his own life.

Mat Staver
Founder and Chairman
Liberty Counsel

*Names changed for privacy.