A Maine mother's court battle over whether she can take her daughter to church might be headed to the U.S. Supreme Court, setting up a potential clash between parental rights, religious liberty and the authority of family courts to restrict a child's religious activities during custody disputes. Emily Bickford said a court order preventing her from bringing her daughter to church violates her constitutional rights under the First and Fourteenth Amendments.
But Maine's highest court recently rejected those arguments, ruling that the restrictions were based on concerns about the child's well-being rather than hostility toward religion. Following the ruling, Bickford's attorneys at Liberty Counsel announced plans to petition the U.S. Supreme Court to hear the case, arguing that the decision represents a serious threat to religious freedom and parental rights.
Bickford is engaged in a years-long custody dispute with her former partner, Matthew Bradeen, over decisions involving their teenage daughter. The conflict eventually expanded beyond ordinary parenting disagreements and into questions about religion, medical decisions and parental authority. At the center of the case is Calvary Chapel in Westbrook, Maine, where Bickford worships.
A Maine district court issued a custody order in December 2024 that prohibits Bickford from bringing her daughter to that church and grants Bradeen sole authority over the child's involvement with Calvary Chapel. The parents retain shared decision-making authority regarding other religious organizations. Bickford maintains that the order unlawfully interferes with her ability to raise her daughter according to her Christian beliefs.
Through Liberty Counsel, she has argued that she is a fit parent who has never been found abusive or neglectful and that government officials should not be permitted to decide whether a child can participate in a parent's religious practices. Her legal team, led by Liberty Counsel founder Mat Staver, has framed the case as one involving fundamental constitutional protections. Following the Maine Supreme Judicial Court's ruling, Staver said the decision "rejects the First Amendment right of a fit parent to raise her child consistent with her Christian faith" and conflicts with existing Supreme Court precedent.
Bickford's supporters have also highlighted that her daughter has allegedly expressed a desire to attend church and maintain relationships with church friends. Liberty Counsel has repeatedly argued that the restrictions have prevented the child from participating in religious activities for nearly two years. The case has become a rallying point among religious-liberty organizations because it raises broader questions about when courts may intervene in disagreements between divorced or separated parents over a child's religious upbringing.
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