Judge BANS child from attending church or learning about Christianity

Liberty Counsel rarely gets involved in child custody cases unless there is a significant constitutional question. The Bickford v. Bradeen case is so outrageous that we were compelled to take the lead on appeal.

Never in my 38 years of practice have I seen an order like this one. A Maine trial judge has banned a mother from taking her own daughter to church. Liberty Counsel is representing the mother and her daughter before the Supreme Court of Maine.

If not overturned, this ruling could set a precedent that strips parents of their right to raise their own children in their faith.

Judges cannot ban parents from taking their own children to church. Help us win our latest fight against this anti-Christian state court opinion and DOUBLE YOUR IMPACT with our Challenge Grant.

The court judge found that Emily Bickford is an exceptionally fit parent, EXCEPT for the fact that she is a born-again Christian raising her child in an evangelical Christian church.

So, the judge issued an opinion that interferes with Emily's right to take her child to church.

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

When Ava told her father she wanted to be baptized, her father ran to the courts to stop it. That’s when the court issued a stunning order.

The father took issue with his daughter attending Calvary Chapel in Portland, Maine, because the church teaches the Bible “verse by verse, chapter by chapter,” including teaching on the Bible’s descriptions of hell, demons, and spiritual warfare.

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Ava’s father hired a Marxist and former University of California professor to testify that Calvary Chapel is a cult and that the church's biblical teachings on gender, marriage, and godly living would “harm” Ava.

This sociologist said the church teaches about a “transcendent belief system” that offers answers and “promises some sort of salvation.”

The judge in the case accepted the so-called “expert” witness and testimony as fact. Plus, the court’s order is filled with animus toward Christianity, deliberately relegating every reference to God in lowercase letters.

By intentionally referring to Ava and her mother’s God as “god” throughout the order, the judge and the court mocked their monotheistic beliefs.

The court order even castigated Emily for allowing Calvary Chapel to pray over her and her daughter!

The court order said that attending this church was “psychologically detrimental” to the girl. The court then gave the father the sole authority to make “final decisions” regarding the girl’s religious instruction. Specifically, the judge’s order allows the father to deny his daughter access to Calvary Chapel’s services, events, messages, or anything else associated with it. The order also gives the father sole control over his daughter’s participation in any other churches, even during the mother’s custodial time.

As I said above, Liberty Counsel rarely gets involved with child custody cases. But the shocking precedent this order could set — banning people from taking their own children to church — is too outrageous to let stand.

If this ruling stands, it could set a dangerous precedent allowing non-believers to prevent parents from raising their children in their own faith.

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 Emily and her daughter. Be in prayer, too, for the 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