In 2004, Thomas Jones and Tammie Bristol were ordered by a judge “to shelter the child from involvement in and observation of these non-mainstream religious beliefs and rituals”, referring to their practice of Wicca. Both parents were Wiccan. Their son was 9 years old at the time of this decree, and attended a Catholic school.
The question in this issue became whether or not the court had the right to make a decision on what religion their children will follow. Custody typically dictates that a parent has the right to make those kind of decisions for their children. In some cases where parents share custody, and religious education and practice cannot be agreed upon, the courts can make stipulations. They can establish that children not be exposed to one parent’s religion or the other until a certain age when the children are more mature.
The father commented “This was done without either of us requesting it and at the judge’s whim. It is upsetting to our son that he cannot celebrate holidays with us, including Yule, which is winter solstice, and Ostara, which is the spring equinox.”
This decree was overturned in mid-2005.
An article on Religioustolerance.org commented that maybe the judge was unaware of many things: the nature of Wicca, that many non-Catholics attend private Catholic schools, that some people consider themselves Wiccan and Christian, and the above all…the First Amendment.
Tags: News
That’s horrible… I would have been infuriated if that had happened to me. You would expect someone as educated as a judge to know and respect a person’s legal rights.