In a landmark decision, the Maine Supreme Judicial Court has granted a father final decision-making authority over his daughter’s church attendance, siding with his claims that the evangelical church environment caused his 11-year-old daughter anxiety and panic attacks, particularly after sermons that denigrated him and discussed the Rapture in frightening terms. The Portland District Court’s initial ruling, now upheld by the state’s high court, found the messages received at Calvary Chapel Greater Portland to be psychologically damaging, especially when the pastor directly involved the child and her father by name in prayers that characterized Bradeen as an ‘enemy’ in need of salvation and the proceedings as an ‘attack on God’s Word.’ The court emphasized that the harm stemmed not from the religious beliefs themselves, but from the mother’s inability to co-parent on religious matters and her decision to allow church figures to denigrate the father, creating a risk of alienating the child from him. This ruling, which grants the father ultimate say on his daughter’s exposure to this specific church and its members, is being viewed as a significant First Amendment case, with the mother’s legal team intending to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, arguing the decision shows ‘open hostility’ towards religious beliefs and infringes on a mother’s right to guide her child’s religious upbringing.
Adapted from: U.S. News Today on Fox News
