Maine's top court rules mom can't bring child to church
Faith & Religion
Post Date:
September 2, 2026
Maine’s top court rules mom can’t bring child to church
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A Bible sits on a table in Phoenix, Aug. 23, 2026. Associated Press / Photo by Dario Lopez-Mills
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The Maine Supreme Judicial Court on Tuesday unanimously upheld a lower court’s order blocking Emily Bickford from bringing her 13-year-old daughter to any religious service or exposing her to Biblical teaching. Bickford can only do so with permission from the child’s father, Matthew Bradeen, who has refused to approve such activities for nearly two years, according to legal organization Liberty Counsel. The order also upheld Bradeen’s sole discretion over the child’s medical care. Bickford planned to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court with assistance from Liberty Counsel, the organization said.
Bickford’s legal team argued that the order violated her religious freedom rights under the First Amendment and right to the equal application of the law under the Fourteenth Amendment. She had never been found abusive or neglectful, so the order barred a fit parent from acting in her child’s best interest, attorneys said.
But the judges disagreed. They said their decision wasn’t based on the substance of Bickford’s religion. Evidence showed that the two parents were unable to agree on matters of religion and healthcare for purposes of coparenting, the court said. The Maine high court upheld the trial court’s ruling that the father’s decision-making process seemed more objective and focused on her well-being.
As an example, judges highlighted Bickford’s statement that God’s will superseded the laws of the land. Judges also said evidence indicated that the child’s exposure to sermons on heaven, hell, and the second coming of Christ contributed to her anxiety and panic attacks. Bickford did not prevent her child from hearing more messages on those subjects.
The court also took issue with a long prayer offered by the pastor of Bickford’s church, in which he named Bradeen, described him as unsaved, and referred to the parents’ custody battle as a spiritual attack. In contrast, Bradeen kept his criticisms of Bickford vague when speaking to the child, the court said.
Dig deeper: Read Christina Grube’s report on earlier arguments in Bickford’s case for more details.
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Elizabeth is a breaking news reporter at WORLD. She is a graduate of World Journalism Institute and Patrick Henry College. She resides in northern Virginia with her husband.
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