Maine’s highest court has upheld a lower-court order giving a father final decision-making authority over whether his daughter attends her mother’s evangelical church. The dispute involves the child’s religious upbringing and the parents’ inability to reach joint decisions. The mother’s lawyers say they plan to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to review the ruling, arguing that it violates her First Amendment rights. The Maine court said its decision addressed potential harm to the child and the parents’ failure to co-parent on religious matters, not the substance of the mother’s beliefs.
| Article Subheadings | |
|---|---|
| 1) | Court affirms the parental decision-making order |
| 2) | Dispute centers on church attendance and alleged harm |
| 3) | A church service became central to the case |
| 4) | Mother’s legal team plans a federal appeal |
| 5) | Ruling focuses on co-parenting and the child’s welfare |
Court affirms the parental decision-making order
The Maine Supreme Judicial Court ruled Tuesday that Matthew Bradeen may make the final decision about his daughter’s participation in services and activities at Calvary Chapel Greater Portland in Westbrook. The order stems from a 2024 dispute between Bradeen and Emily Bickford, who had been taking their daughter to the church several times a week. The child was 11 when the dispute reached the lower court.
The lower court gave Bradeen authority over the child’s attendance at services, involvement in church activities and contact with church members other than Bickford. The parents must continue to share parental rights and responsibilities concerning exposure to other religious groups. When they disagree about the daughter’s religious upbringing, however, Bradeen has final authority.
Dispute centers on church attendance and alleged harm
Bradeen argued that the church was a dangerous and harmful environment for his daughter. He said she experienced anxiety and suffered a panic attack after hearing teachings about the Rapture, the Christian belief that believers will be taken to heaven while nonbelievers remain to face an apocalyptic period.
The lower court concluded that some messages the child received were psychologically damaging, particularly because they portrayed her father negatively. The Maine Supreme Judicial Court upheld that finding. It said the concern was not that the church’s belief system was rooted in the Bible, but that the child had been exposed to frightening and hostile descriptions of one parent without adequate efforts to reduce the potential harm.
A church service became central to the case
A major issue was a service held while the legal dispute was still pending. Pastor Travis Carey led a six-and-a-half-minute prayer focused on the case and referred to the parents and child by name almost 30 times. He said Bradeen was in need of salvation and characterized the proceedings as an attack on God’s Word.
The state Supreme Court said Bickford did not try to remove her daughter from the service and later described the event as appropriate. The court found that Bickford was unwilling to acknowledge or address the risk that such messages could alienate the child from her father or otherwise cause emotional harm.
The final finding reflected simply that it is harmful for a child to hear negative and frightening messages about one parent from the other parent or the other parent’s authority figures.
Mother’s legal team plans a federal appeal
Bickford’s attorney, Mathew Staver, said the legal team intends to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. The mother and her lawyers have 90 days to file a petition. They argue that the Maine order improperly restricts Bickford’s ability to guide her child’s religious upbringing and reflects hostility toward religious beliefs.
Staver said the case could be significant because, in his view, the Maine decision conflicts with rulings from courts in other states and raises broad questions under the First Amendment’s protection of religious exercise. Bradeen’s attorney, Michelle King, described the Maine ruling as well reasoned and said the case had been stressful for the parents because of its public attention.
Ruling focuses on co-parenting and the child’s welfare
The court emphasized that assigning final authority to Bradeen was a response to the parents’ inability to make religious decisions together. It did not declare Bickford’s evangelical beliefs improper or prohibit the child from learning about religion generally. Instead, the order addresses attendance and contact connected with the specific church while preserving shared authority over other religious exposure.
The decision therefore turns on how parental conflict, church messages and the child’s welfare intersect. The court concluded that one parent needed final authority because joint decision-making had failed and because the lower court found a risk of emotional harm to the child’s relationship with her father.
| Number | Key Point |
|---|---|
| 1 | The Maine Supreme Judicial Court upheld the lower-court order. |
| 2 | The father has final authority over attendance at the specific church. |
| 3 | The court cited co-parenting failures and possible emotional harm. |
| 4 | The mother’s lawyers plan to seek U.S. Supreme Court review. |
Summary
Maine’s ruling gives Matthew Bradeen final authority over his daughter’s attendance at her mother’s church after courts found that the parents could not jointly manage religious decisions and that certain church messages could harm the child’s relationship with her father. The pending appeal may bring the dispute before the U.S. Supreme Court, where the central question would be how parental religious rights should be balanced against a child’s welfare in a high-conflict custody case.
Frequently Asked Questions
What did the Maine Supreme Judicial Court decide?
It upheld an order giving the father final decision-making authority over whether his daughter attends services, activities or certain interactions connected with her mother’s evangelical church.
Why did the courts restrict the church attendance?
The courts cited the parents’ inability to co-parent on religious issues and findings that the child had been exposed to frightening or negative messages about her father.
Will the case go to the U.S. Supreme Court?
The mother’s legal team said it plans to appeal, and it has 90 days to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to review the decision.