Courts of law and religion tend not to intermingle very often, with a few exceptions, such as when people testify and must swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth on the bible. However, there have been cases that have been tried over several years that have to do with religion. When a couple gets a divorce or separates and each of the parents are of different faiths, it can cause issues regarding which parent the child should live with and what religion they should be brought up in. Different states have different ways of handling this issue when it comes up, as there is no national law regarding child custody with parents of different religious faiths. Usually the courts will place the child with whichever parent they believe will best raise the child, or is best equipped financially, emotionally, and mentally to raise the child. That being said, it can be said that certain religions follow practices that courts may feel are not in the best interests of the child.
Courts are usually unwilling to make a decision about the placement of the child based on the religious preference of the parents since it is in violation of the parent’s first amendment rights to practice whatever religious faith that they wish and to raise their child however they wish.
When deciding upon which parent to place the child with when both parents have different religious faiths, the court uses the following guidelines in order to make a decision:
- Actual or Substantial Harm: When the parent’s religious faith will cause any sort of harm to the child the court will refuse to place the child with this parent.
- Risk of Harm: If the court feels that the parent’s religious faith may cause harm to the child they will be reluctant to place the child with this parent, unless they can be convinced that the child will not come to any harm by living with this parent.
- No Harm Required: If the child has already been placed with one parent and the other parent is suing for custody, the court may take the parents religious preference into account especially if the custodial parent objects strongly to the noncustodial parent’s religion.
In some cases, the courts may allow a child to live with one parent but make restrictions upon the parents religious activities when around the child. Usually, however, the courts attempt to let the parents practice whatever religion they wish to as long as it is not harmful to the child. It has been shown that there aren’t any negative effects from letting a child be raised around two different religions, it actually may be helpful to the child since they have more information about these religions and can choose which to be a part of when they are old enough.
For more information about child custody and religion, visit montesfamilylaw.com or consult with a family law attorney.
Works Cited
“Child Custody and Religion | Nolo.com.” Nolo.com. Nolo, 2015. Web. 24 Feb. 2016.
