A custody battle currently being heard by the Maine Supreme Court is drawing attention not just for its unusual circumstances, but for the far-reaching questions it raises about parental rights, religious freedom, and the limits of state intervention.
The legal fight is between two divorced parents – Emily Bickford and Matthew Bradeen – and centers around one emotionally charged question: which church should their daughter grow up attending?
Last year, Maine courts found that the church Bickford had chosen was so extreme in its beliefs that it was causing psychological damage to the child. They issued a sweeping ruling in favor of Bradeen, putting him in control of their 12-year-old daughter’s religious upbringing.
Bickford thinks this was a legal overreach by the courts, and her lawyers argue it's a clear violation of her First Amendment rights. Now, Maine’s highest court will decide where the lines are between parental rights, religious freedom, and child safety.
Who Controls a Child’s Faith?
Maine courts found that teachings from Calvary Chapel Church in Portland, Maine – a church the child’s mother Emily Bickford has attended since 2021 – were causing her psychological harm.
The father, Matthew Bradeen, raised the issue after noticing his daughter was enduring severe panic attacks over her belief her father was going to hell, and leaving notes around the house reading, “the rapture is coming”. Expert witnesses testified in court that the church’s rapture-ready, fire and brimstone approach to scripture was the cause of the child’s anxieties, leading to the court’s rare decision to bar Bickford from taking their daughter to that church.
Ultimately, they made the unusual move of giving Bradeen sole discretion to bar his daughter from attending church.
Bickford v. Bradeen
Now the mother is fighting back, arguing the order infringes on religious liberty.
The court’s decision “affects not only our family but the families of all Christian children,” Bickford told reporters. She’s enlisted Liberty Counsel – a prominent conservative Christian legal group – to argue her case in court.
“The custody order cannot prohibit Bickford from taking her daughter to church. The implications of this order pose a serious threat to religious freedom,” the group wrote in a press release.
The decision, they say, is “a direct infringement on [Bickford’s] right to direct the religious upbringing of her child.”
Yet Bradeen’s lawyers argue that the child’s welfare simply must override all other concerns, even if it supersedes their co-parent’s religious rights.
Attorney Michelle King argued the judge found a “compelling state interests in avoiding substantial harm,” pointing to Bradeen’s testimony as well their expert witness’ analysis of the emotional distress caused by Cavalry Chapel Church’s sermons.
Where Is the Line?
Cases like Bickford v. Bradeen expose just how fraught the intersection of faith, family, and state power can be. On one hand, parents have a long-recognized right to instill their beliefs and traditions in their children – a right many see as foundational to both family life and religious freedom in America.
On the other, courts have a legal and moral obligation to step in when parental decisions may be contributing to real psychological harm.
When do a parent’s sincere religious convictions cross into territory the state can regulate? And who gets to decide what constitutes “harm” in a religious context? These are the questions Maine’s Supreme Court will have to answer.
As the justices deliberate, the rest of us are left wrestling with the same questions.
Where should the line be drawn between protecting a child’s well-being and safeguarding a parent’s right to pass down their faith? What do you think the courts’ role should be in situations like this?
40 comments
-
Walter J. Holbrook
Why do we force children to do things they will eventually hate
-
Pastor Bobby Roy
My Take Courts should be extremely cautious about intervening in religious matters—but when credible evidence shows a child is suffering serious harm, intervention is justified. The challenge is defining “harm” in a way that doesn’t give the state too much power to police religious beliefs.
This case forces us to ask:
Should the state decide which religious teachings are too extreme?
Or should parents have near-absolute freedom, even if it risks their child’s mental health?
-
James Riggle-Johnson
If the church service is traumatizing the child, then this is a no-brainer. I would think a judge would take the child's wants and needs into account before making a ruling. That part of her thinking that the father might go to hell came from the mother, in my opinion. It’s sad when divorced parents put the children in the middle of their arguments and use them as tools.
-
Vee
How effed up do people need to be to belong to a faith that preaches hateful rhetoric to children? God doesn't threaten people with hell, humans do. SO much damage is done to people by other people and God is a convenient scapegoat. Meanwhile, psychological torture is perpetuated in religions passing themselves off as "caring". We're so far removed from our source we actually not only believe in, but routinely practice insane rituals designed to scare the living daylights out of each other. Just...wut.
-
Anna Marie Brace
This is the type of church that I was raised in, and, at 58 years old, I am still recovering from it. The damage done by rapture theology is akin to an R-rated horror movie that causes nightmares in children. "You've been left behind" still plays in my head after all these years. Power to the courts!!!!
-
Ronaldo
Many things can cause psychological damage to a child. Addictive shopping behavior, an unhealthy diet, a healthy but unwanted diet, being ignored, being scrutinized over every action, and so on. The first step in a case such as this one would be to determine whether or not psychological damage actually occurred, and the court seems to have done that. This is why they issued a "sweeping ruling", and not a close and long debated decision. The court apparently saw sufficient evidence that they chose to protect the child from the damaging influence of this particular church.
-
JaZe
At 12 the girl does not yet have the maturity and knowledge for an in depth understanding of religious mindsets. She s being programmed into an extreme view ! Better to learn about different religions in a non religious school to avoid bias.
-
Ari Joseph Bertine
Religious beliefs have been causing harm to children for a very long time, and it's going to take a lot of fighting between a lot of different belief systems to establish any power for courts to protect them from it. Because of various religions, children are traumatized, like the one featured in this story; they are physically maimed; they are abused; they are taken away from loving parents; they are radicalized, robbed of joy, filled with hatred, you name it. The courts tread lightly because of religious freedom, but this religious freedom is only recognized for adults. The children that are under those adults' care are subject to whatever treatment that their guardians decide is good for them, and if that is a harmful religious belief, there is nothing that the child can do about it, and there is nothing that the court will do about it because children are the property of their guardians, and those guardians' religious rights cannot be restricted. No allowance has ever been given to the religious freedom of children.
-
Tami Tabone
I believe that if the so called "religion" is causing damage or emotional distress to the child, then it should not be considered a religious practice. To qualify as a religion, there should not be harm to the practioner. Niw if the adult wants to put themselves through that, it is their choice. But in my opinion, if a parent's mental state is such that they would place their children in danger for the sake of religious belief, they are not capable of responsible parenting.
-
John Florea Jr
More proof that ALL religion is harmful.
-
Steven Ferrell
What this is, is parents using the child to get at each other because they divorced and still can’t get along.
I have seen it over and over again. They use the child as a pawn against the other parent. One, the mother should not be telling the daughter that her dad was going to hell. She could say, daddy does not believe the same as I do, but he is a good person, and let it go at that. By the same token, the father could have simply told the daughter thank you for being concerned but I don’t believe the same as your mom, but mom is a good person, and let it go that.I get so angry with parents who use the child as their way to get back at their ex.
-
Pamela S. Angelini
No one has brought up one psychological problem faced here. I agree the child has the right to choose, but can she? How can she say No if she wants to? She is afraid. She's afraid her father will burn in hell. She's afraid her mother will be angry or reject her if she refuses the church her mother supports. She's a confused, anxious, panic ridden 12 year old entering puberty with all its hormonal adjustments. I believe she is mentally unable to say No--or Yes for that matter. It's the duty of the court to make the healthiest decision for her. I think they made the right decision to protect her. Later, when she is mentally stable and healthy, she can choose her own church-- or not. For now, since her parents are incapable, the court must be her protector.
-
Patricia Ann Gross
Religious Trauma Syndrome is being considered for includsion in the DSM. Treatment guidelines are similar to those for PTSD and other traumas, including CBT and EMDR. Because this is a child undergoing emotional abuse, typical child abuse/trauma protocols would be appropriate.
You are absolutely right that she is overwhelmed by a powerful thought - spending eternity in hell and rejection by her loved ones. Deconstructing that won't be easy or fast. Mother and father also need help.
-
-
Walter Abington
Both parents need to come together and decide how their child is going to be raised if it’s going to be raised religiously. Just because one parent has custody from a divorce, that does not mean the other parent does not have a say and how that child is raised.
-
Pix Edward
Have they asked the child what she thinks? I no longer live in an area where fundamentalist belief is rampant, but I have been to Sunday service where gloom and doom was pushed upon me as a child. I was told I'd suffer for eternity because I got a haircut. That's not what Christ was about. Pray in your closet, love your neighbour (all of them, no fine print excludes trans people), and treat foreigners with dignity. If she's having panic attacks, that place is not right or righteous in any way.
-
Patricia Ann Gross
Yes, and that is the whole problem.
-
-
Roy S. Thorpe
Church and state separation is an old argument! There always be people to tell you how to live your life! Unfortunately some are in government!
-
2Chosen4Truth
This is not a question of parental or governmental rights. Our obligation, taken on at the time to bring a child into existence, is to guide the next generation. We should teach them to ask questions, weigh the facts and draw their own conclusions. To question their conclusions, being honest with one's self.
-
Michael Dwayne Cooper
the church sounds like it may be at fault here and probably had something to do with the break up of the marriage. sad to say it sounds like a Pentecostal group which teach everyone else is going to hell and tend to claim they get to sin without repercussions otherwise they'd be a great church group. the girl could be in danger of abuse. the father should have as much say in the religious up bringing as the mother to keep the girl safe
-
Joseph Grieco
It sounds like that "church" is one of those where there is no oversight or authority except that of the Pastor and a select body of "elders". Churches like that have a history of isolationism and try to separate church members from family and community. I have a couple of friends whose marriages were wrecked by churches like that. And they don't have to be the huge Megachurches, although we see that quite often in them. No, we also see that in the smaller churches with no defined canon except what the pastor fulminates about on any given week. If I were the father, I would make sure my lawyer had that pastor on MY witness list. Let the court hear directly what kind of church he runs. Some super controlling types will destroy their own credibility that way.
-
Rev Ned
I am 79. When I was 12 or 13, being raised Holy MO Synod Lutheran, my mother informed me that Leonard Bernstein was Jewish. Being a big fan of his, my reaction was, “WHAT?!? You mean he’s going to Hell?!?” My mom replied, “Well, I guess so.” That was the beginning of my path to agnosticism. I am superstitious, just not in that way.
-
Evone L Payton Banks (Minister/Rev non denominational)
In true honesty, I think the age of the child plays a big role in their argument. I also get both sides. One wants a foundation and the other wants the freedom of that foundation. I truly believe if they allow both to share there beliefs the child will decide. Though we have not much to go on (just the views of parents) allowing a child to decide is healthier than forcing a view point. If it's causing unnecessary stress to the child, then by all means yes cater to the needs of the child. As the well-being of the child should be priority. I think in my opinion that if you're fighting over religion in what seems to be an already stressed and broken environment; adding the stress of feeding parents is not helping. One, not only is the child feeling out of sorts when it comes to religion based on what evidence we do have.. we have to agree a mutual understanding is not here between the adults. I'm on the side of clear up what you have going on emotionally as adults then ask the child (and unbiased party that is) what exactly he or she feels. 10 to 1 it's the pressure of the feud also causing emotional distress. Personally, as a mother I taught my children different ways then when they got old enough to tell how they felt; I felt it was my duty to listen more and speak less. A child needs support in order to grow a d thrive.
-
Evone L Payton Banks (Minister/Rev non denominational)
I do apologize for typos already corrected. Phone was stolen. Don't know what they did with it
-
-
Patricia Ann Gross
The child is 12 years old, which, depending on the child, is a pivotal point in her emotional development, as puberty is starting to set in. If the courts found that the emotional distress was significant enough to bar her from a church, then there is plenty that we don't know. What and how is the church teaching? What is the father's faith, or is there one? To answer the question about faith and the law, yes, the courts intervene in harmful religious practices that result in physical or emotional harm, practiced in [mostly] extreme and fringe religions, and not just Christian. Think of things like child sacrifice and incest. These have caused parents to lose custody and/or go to jail, so the welfare of the child in always a factor. Has the mother had a psychological evaluation? Has the father? Lots here we don't know.
-
obere mchugh
if the teachings are putting undue pressure and psychological harm to the child, then the court's did the right thing as the concern in custody fight's is very much important as it is the duty of the courts to protect the child and what is in there best interest not what the parent's want or think is right. yes your religion shouldnt be stepped on but if your faith and what they teach are detrimental to a young childs development then yes they should be stopped from attending as the damnage to there fragile state of mind is what is important not your ability to decide that you want them to attend your fundementally harmful church services.
-
Kathryn Diane Taft
Sorry but everyone is wrong. The answer is simple and there's no grey area or doubt in my mind. This is America. Every person regardless of age is protected by the Constitution and it clearly says courts cannot make decisions about religion AND as soon as a person is able to voice their opinion about church it should be respected. As in around 3-4 yrs old. This kid is what, 12? Unless she is mentally handicapped she's perfectly capable of making her own decision about church. The Dad needs to tell her the truth, the mom needs to Bible thump someone else and the Court needs to tell all of them exactly what I'm saying right now. And then butt out. Sheesh! Idk who's worse, the Catholics that continue to blatantly support pedo's in power over their children or the Pentecostal Christians who think God is a bi-polar maniac with a complex looking to burn us up cuz he done went and messed up when he made us, for sure. I mean, he really screwed up making us huh? We're the worst. NOT! DON'T BE DAFT, GOD IS GOD!!! He isn't stupid, doesn't make mistakes and anyone who believes that bs book is really kind of pathetic in my opinion. Hello! King James Version, der. Has anyone ever translated ancient Hebrew? Cuz it doesn't have anyone named Matthew or Mark or Luke or John!!! It's ridiculous and clearly propaganda. Definitely not the Word of God. God is WAY BETTER THAN THAT. Anyhow, cut and dried. The kid is an American and her parents, the Court, and all of us need to remember that. I am Kathryn Taft, ordained minister and direct descendant of William Howard and Robert Taft, POTUS, Supreme Court Justice and head of the Senate. Card carrying CONSTITUTIONALISTS. Born and bred Republicans but followed the Constitution in all matters. This is no different. When your 4 yr old throws a tantrum and says "I don't want to go to church!" that should be it. If they say "I want to be a Krishna, shave my head and hang out at the airport you should respect that. Period. THIS IS WHY AMERICA IS SO MESSED UP AND CORRUPT, EVERYONE HAS FORGOTTEN THEIR RIGHTS AND THE RESPONSIBILITY THAT COMES WITH THOSE RIGHTS. go read the Constitution, not the Bible. Then read it again. Please.
-
Patricia Ann Gross
Kathryn,
I'm sorry, but a 3-4 year-old does not have the capacity to understand the complexities of religion, which is why children's Bibles are written in age-appropriate language that excludes the violence and sexual references (or waters them down). I don't even necessarily agree that a 12-year old girl is beyond being heavily influenced by fringe elements that are dangerous. There is a reason children this age have "stranger danger" shoved down their throats. Some children are not given any instruction (nor do they have the capacity to learn) how to make informed decisions until their late teens, so before then it is pretty much cut and dried: They do as dictated by their parent(s).
-
-
John Riso
I agree that you should not put parent versus parent because the child is going to feel that and it can hurt the child even more. Yes if the child is older enough to decide on what church he or she wants to go to and that child is happy then that is where the child will go with that parent. Yes I do agree with reverend Paula on what she wrote for a comment and when one parent says no it’s no. That’s why when you have parents divorced they should work it out with the religion.
-
Colleen McAllister
There is missing information here. What is the father's faith? Or does he have any? If he has no faith then perhaps the problem is more basic than one church over another. The choice here would be faith vs none. The daughter should be given the choice and perhaps exposing her to other beliefs should be where to start. Involving the courts seems harsh but may be the right solution.
-
Robert Gagnon
Got some stories about Calvary. Many years ago they actually prayed for a friend of mine with a drinking problem to have an accident that would make him a quadriplegic. That way he could stop drinking and find God. Had a whole swarm of them in my front yard at 10:00 at night after my first wife went to one of their outings and gave them all her information. They haunted her at work and finally at our home. She wouldn't talk to them while hiding in a back room, they said I was keeping her from finding God. Had to threaten them with my dog to get them to leave. So, yeah they are a little nutty.
-
Rev. Mike Eggleston
"Little nutty"? That must be the understatement of the century.
-
Dr. Zerpersande, NSC
All religious people are delusional, it’s just a matter of degree.
The world would be a better place if they kept their nutty beliefs completely to themselves.
-
Robert Gagnon
Story gets better, New Years eve 1999, I was renting part of their house off my friend and his Calvary wife. The house was a block from the beach in Deerfield FL, There was a full orchestra with fireworks at the beach. I'd invited may family and some friends over with booze, blenders and mixers after the show. My friends wife made a huge dinner and had about 20 church people come over. They were decent people but terrified that the rapture was coming on Y2K. A couple of their number had come to party with us saying Jesus wouldn't mind. Come a half hour past midnight they were in total panic trying to figure out Jesus didn't show up. Little ideas like "maybe it has to be midnight in Bethlehem ect." So I made an announcement that the calendar was man made and God does not have to follow our schedule. Half the remainder came and drank with us but a few looked on in envy while remaining faithful.
-
-
-
Melinda Fulk
I don't to wade too far into this argument, because maybe it really should be a case-by-case deal based on each child and the circumstances, decided by some guidelines and what really is in the best interest of that child. However, when a child's religious exposure is causing them actual panic attacks? That shouldn't even be a question needing decided on by the courts. That exposure is akin to child abuse. Hard stop.
-
Rev. Carol M Anaski-Figurski
Interesting article, I would keep it open for discussion. 12 is a good age but most people have their kids in church setting at much earlier ages. As with any thing the comfrt of the child comes first, but it might just be the weeks sermon. Children should be in the age appropriate class room for learning from the childrens bible & not in the regular sermon for adults. I would say know what the next weeks topic is & discuss it ahead of time.
-
Nicholas J Page
Last time I knew Churches were open to everyone but playing one parent against another is a no no it's up to the child where she goes and is happiest not the parents
-
Dylan Tuatha Le Danaan
If the parents cannot agree on specific methods of child raising, then yes a third party has to step in. In this particular case it looks like the mother is weaponizing the child against the father, creating a hostile environment. I would definitely step in and remove the child from anything but supervised contact with the mother for a period of at least one year. And a possible psych evaluation for both.
-
Reverend Paula Copp
Just like other aspects of a child of divorced parents, religion should be a two yes, one no situation. When both parents agree, there’s no argument. But if one of the parents says no, the answer should be no.
-
Mitch
This works for rational people. But what happens when one parent says no to things like teaching about evolution, or a globe shaped Earth? I have a hard time believing that a church giving a child panic attacks, and a parent supporting that, are sourced from a rational place.
-
✝️