The highest court in the US state of Maine has unanimously upheld an earlier ruling concerning a 12-year-old girl’s church attendance. Her father, Matthew Bradeen, may decide whether she accompanies her mother to Calvary Chapel. The justices stressed that their decision was not based on a general judgement about Christianity. Instead, they said it concerned the harm the situation had caused the child.

Bradeen and the girl’s mother, Emily Bickford, separated more than ten years ago. In 2021, Bickford began taking their daughter Ava to Calvary Chapel. Bradeen said she attended one service during the week and two on Sundays. After a while, he noticed changes in his daughter’s behaviour. According to evidence presented in court, teachings about demons, hell, the Antichrist and the end of the world left Ava frightened and anxious. She was also reported to have suffered panic attacks and tried to convert her father because she feared that he would otherwise go to hell.
During services, Ava also heard accounts in which gay and lesbian relationships were mentioned alongside physical and sexual trauma and infidelity. Expert witness Janja Lalich told the court that the sermons were filled with “hateful rhetoric”, including homophobia and hostility towards science and public schools. She did not describe the church as a cult, but said that, in her view, the organisation relied heavily on fear. She also believed that Ava’s attendance did not appear to be entirely voluntary.

Tensions increased when Pastor Travis Carey discussed the custody case during a church service. He placed Bickford and the church on the side of “good” and Bradeen on the side of “evil”. In 2024, a Maine court therefore gave the father sole responsibility for his daughter’s religious upbringing. Liberty Counsel, which represents the mother, appealed the decision, arguing that her religious freedom and right to due process had been violated.

Maine’s highest court rejected the appeal. According to the justices, it is harmful for a child to hear “negative and frightening messages” about one parent from the other parent or from an authority figure. The ruling does not rule out all church attendance or conversations about faith. Liberty Counsel has announced that it intends to take the case to the US Supreme Court.