Maine Supreme Court Rules Mom Can't Take Her Daughter to Church

The Maine Supreme Court has unanimously upheld a custody order prohibiting a mother from taking her 13-year-old daughter to her church or religious events. The court reportedly also upheld that Emily Bickford can't expose her daughter to religious beliefs, like the Bible, without approval from the girl's father.

The courts in Maine have granted the girl's father "decision-making authority" over his daughter's exposure to religion, so Bickford hasn't been allowed to take her daughter to church for nearly two years. 

The state's high court heard oral arguments last fall in the case of Bickford v. Bradeen — a battle pitting judicial authority against parental rights and the First Amendment. 

Liberty Counsel, a faith-based non-profit legal group, has been representing Bickford and is now asking the U.S. Supreme Court to take up the case. 

"This opinion rejects the First Amendment right of a fit parent to raise her child consistent with her Christian faith," said Liberty Counsel Founder and Chairman Mat Staver. "This opinion goes against other state court decisions involving custody in the context of religious free exercise rights and ignores precedent from the U.S. Supreme Court. We will ask the High Court to take this case and overrule the decision."

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According to Liberty Counsel, Ava's parents were never married, and Bickford maintained primary custody of Ava, while her father had visitation rights. Since December 2024, Bickford has been challenging a custody order that prohibits her from bringing her daughter, Ava, to Calvary Chapel in Portland, Maine. 

Part of the case centers on one service in which Bradeen was mentioned when the church's pastor prayed for his salvation. And Liberty contends that after attending Calvary Chapel for three years, young Ava decided to be baptized. When her father learned about her decision, it reportedly upset him, fueling the current court battle.

Bradeen argued the church was a "dangerous and harmful environment" that had caused his daughter to suffer from anxiety. He claimed she had a panic attack after hearing the church's teachings on the rapture.

Then the courts put him in charge of all decisions related to Ava's religious exposure. Staver argues that the order gave the father "absolute unreviewable authority to deny any kind of association or even reading the Bible or religious philosophy, attending any church or any event or associating with anyone...or any church or religious organization."

Michelle King, an attorney representing the father, said Bradeen is happy with the results so far. "Anytime you're in court, it's stressful," King said. "But this case has definitely garnered a lot of media attention, and I think that's always difficult for parents."

Liberty reports that a lower court in Maine concluded that although Bickford is a fit parent and "there has been no showing of harm to (the child) associated with a belief system that is rooted in the Bible," the state court raised concerns about mainstream Christian teachings of Heaven, Hell, eternal salvation, angels, demons, and teaching the Bible "verse by verse, chapter by chapter." 

Liberty Counsel hopes the U.S. Supreme Court will take up the case and evaluate the broader constitutional issues at stake.

King said she "anticipated all along" that the case could end up before the Supreme Court.

Read the entire Maine Supreme Court ruling here.