Child custody cases are often fraught with trying and unusual behaviors and demands, but the recent custody order from a judge in Maine has taken bigotry against Christians to a new level.
Emily Bickford had a daughter, Ava who turns 13 in January, with Matt Bradeen. The two were not married, and Emily has retained primary custody while the father has visitation rights.
Emily is Christian and has worked to provide a foundation of faith for her daughter, something her non-custodial father opposes. He has been described as ‘hating’ Christianity.
Bradeen took the issue to court, found a former ACLU president who had become a judge, and the war on religion commenced.
The judge issued a custody order that can only be viewed as hostile to Christianity. The order forbids Ava from associating with any of her church friends, attending church or Christian events, and even prevents Ava from studying the Bible, “religious philosophy,” or discussing her faith with her own mother. Ava is also not allowed to participate in Christian holiday events such as Christmas.
According to Liberty Council, the mother and daughter had been attending Calvary Chapel, an evangelical Christian church in Portland, ME, for 3½ years. Ava shared her excitement with her father over her upcoming baptism and that is when the trouble began.
Instead of sharing his daughter’s excitement, even if his views differ, he engaged the leftist judge and then brought in a Marxist former sociology professor from California as a “witness.” The witness testified that Calvary Chapel (and any church that believes the Bible) is a “cult” that causes psychological harm to children.
“The judge found that Emily is a fit parent EXCEPT for the fact that she is a Christian,” Liberty Council’s Founder and Chairman Mat Staver notes.
“The judge mocked Ava and Emily’s faith by purposefully refusing to capitalize the word ‘God’ — something I have never seen.”
The judge even chastised Emily for allowing the church pastor to pray for Ava. And the judge ruled that Emily could not take Ava to ANY church unless Matt approves. And Matt has steadfastly refused to approve ANY church,” he continued.
The order is even more intrusive.
- Ava cannot associate with any of her church friends or any member of Calvary Chapel Portland.
- If Ava meets a new friend outside of Calvary and that person begins attending Calvary, Ava must cut ties with that friend.
Ava cannot attend ANY Christmas, Easter, or any other Christian event or celebration at ANY church, including any wedding, funeral, or even hospital visits with anyone associated with Calvary Chapel. - Ava cannot have any contact or participation with ANY religious organization (which would include Salvation Army or a food bank, homeless shelter, or crisis pregnancy center).
- Ava cannot read the Bible or religious literature or be exposed to any “religious philosophy.”
- Matt Bradeen is even using the court’s custody order to insist that Emily cannot read the Bible or teach Ava ANYTHING about the Christian faith! I wish this were not real, but sadly it is.
The order has cut the child from an essential source of emotional support and forced her to lose friends during a key time in the social development of a child, and has been ongoing since December of 2024.
Last Thursday, Liberty Council presented oral arguments before the Maine Supreme Court to overturn this outrageous custody order.
“The majority of justices said the order is hostile toward religion and that it used a ‘nuclear option’ by taking all decision-making away from an unquestionably fit parent regarding the religious upbringing of her daughter,” Staver concluded.
Ava and her mother now await the Maine Supreme Court’s decision.
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