Maine’s high court agrees mother can’t take daughter to Calvary Chapel
Maine Supreme Court Upholds Judge’s Decision to Grant Father Final Say in Daughter’s Church Attendance
A unanimous opinion from Maine’s highest court confirmed a Cumberland County judge’s ruling that gave a father sole authority over whether his daughter can attend a local Calvary Chapel and over all medical decisions for the child. The decision follows a dispute between the parents over the daughter’s attendance at an evangelical church in Westbrook, where the mother had taken the child to services without the father’s knowledge.
Judge Jennifer Nofsinger, who presided over the case in 2024, found that the mother had failed to co‑parent with the father on matters of religion. In the event of a conflict, the court gave the father the right to decide the daughter’s religious activities and medical care. The mother, Emily Bickford, challenged the ruling, arguing that it violated her constitutional rights and discriminated against her faith. She was represented by attorneys from Liberty Counsel, a Florida‑based firm that has represented clients in high‑profile religious freedom cases.
The Maine Supreme Judicial Court, led by Chief Justice Valerie Stanfill, issued a unanimous opinion on Tuesday affirming the lower court’s order. The justices wrote that the decision was made in the child’s best interests and that the parties were unable to co‑parent on religious matters. They explained that “the allocation of religious decision‑making to Bradeen ultimately rested on no more than its findings that the parties are unable to co‑parent on matters of religion, such that it was therefore necessary to allocate decision‑making to one or the other, and that Bradeen is better suited to determine whether certain religious activities are in the child’s best interest.”
Bradeen claimed that the daughter had a panic attack after a sermon at Calvary Chapel of Greater Portland and that he had no knowledge of her attendance there. He urged the court to enforce the co‑parenting agreement that required both parents to be informed about such matters. The court agreed, awarding him final authority over the daughter’s church attendance and over her medical care, including vaccinations.
Bickford’s appeal argued that the order was hostile to her religious beliefs and infringed on her right to raise her child in her faith. She asserted that the decision effectively barred her from discussing religion with the daughter. The court rejected that argument, noting that the ruling did not target the content of her beliefs but addressed the practical inability of the parents to co‑parent on religious issues.
The case involves Calvary Chapel of Greater Portland, one of several Calvary Chapel locations across Maine. The church, an evangelical Christian organization, has been involved in other high‑profile religious freedom disputes in the state.
No attorneys for either side were available for comment at the time the decision was issued. The ruling will be final and binding on the parties.
The Supreme Judicial Court’s decision underscores the court’s willingness to prioritize a child’s best interests when parents cannot agree on religious or medical matters, even if it involves a parent’s right to practice or discuss their faith.
