Maine High Court Allows Father to Bar Daughter From Attending Church With Mother

September 4, 2026

Maine’s highest court has rejected arguments that a custody order restriction allowing a father to prevent his daughter from attending a Calvary Chapel congregation with her mother, was a violation of the mother’s religious liberty rights.

Christianity Daily reports that the Maine Supreme Judicial Court issued a unanimous decision Tuesday upholding the order in the case of Emily A. Bickford v. Matthew A. Bradeen, with Chief Justice Valeria Stanfill writing for the court.

The dispute originated from an arrangement granting Bickford and Bradeen “shared parental rights and responsibilities,” while leaving them at odds over who should have authority over their daughter’s religious upbringing.

According to Christianity Daily, Bradeen objected to Bickford taking the child to Calvary Chapel Greater Portland and also opposed her decision not to allow the child to receive a COVID-19 vaccine.

Stanfill affirmed the lower court’s ruling in Bradeen’s favor, concluding that the “strict scrutiny” standard often applied in cases involving parental religious rights “does not apply to allocations of parental rights between a child’s parents.”

The court wrote that “parental rights and responsibilities must be allocated in whatever fashion best serves the best interest of the child.”

The Court also said it was “unpersuaded by Bickford’s claim” that the lower court demonstrated “hostility toward her religion by describing her church in offensive terms, including referring to it as a ‘cult.’”

Liberty Counsel Founder and Chairman Mat Staver, who represented Bickford, said, “This opinion rejects the First Amendment right of a fit parent to raise her child consistent with her Christian faith.”

Staver called the opinion “disappointing” and “a serious threat to religious freedom” and said he intends to seek review from the U.S. Supreme Court.

Photo: top, Credit: Screenshot/Calvary Chapel Greater Portland