Judge: Parents can't teach pagan beliefs

[Tara]

Judge: Parents can't teach pagan beliefs
Father appeals order in divorce decree that prevents couple from exposing son to Wicca. [/b]
By Kevin Corcoran

An Indianapolis father is appealing a Marion County judge's unusual order that prohibits him and his ex-wife from exposing their child to "non-mainstream religious beliefs and rituals."

(read on)

[Amalcas]

That seems very odd....I wonder on what technicality the judge passed that off.

[Tara]

Maybe b/c the child goes to Catholic school? I dunno. That's...that should be their choice though.

"There is a discrepancy between Ms. Jones and Mr. Jones' lifestyle and the belief system adhered to by the parochial school. . . . Ms. Jones and Mr. Jones display little insight into the confusion these divergent belief systems will have upon (the boy) as he ages," the bureau said in its report.

But Jones, 37, Indianapolis, disputes the bureau's findings, saying he attended Bishop Chatard High School in Indianapolis as a non-Christian

[littlepea]

i've heard of religion being relevant to which parent gets custody of the child if there's a dispute (eg. the child is being brought up a catholic but the mum's a black witch, so it's better for the child to be brought up by her catholic father ... assuming the two parents are equal in every other respect) but i've never heard of this sort of thing before.

it's effectively saying that teaching children a non-mainstream religion is child abuse ... seems more than a bit strange to me ... separation of church and state, anyone?

[Tigress]

"There is a discrepancy between Ms. Jones and Mr. Jones' lifestyle and the belief system adhered to by the parochial school. . . . Ms. Jones and Mr. Jones display little insight into the confusion these divergent belief systems will have upon (the boy) as he ages," the bureau said in its report.

Yeah, tell that to interfaith families and/or children who are exposed to possibly numerous religions and ideas beginning at a very young age. -- It's most likely that this child already realizes that not everyone has the same worldview as he or his parents, so I doubt the claim of 'confusion.'

Key points:

The ICLU and Jones assert the judge's order tramples on the parents' constitutional right to expose their son to a religion of their choice. Both say the court failed to explain how exposing the boy to Wicca's beliefs and practices would harm him.

"When they read the order to me, I said, 'You've got to be kidding,' " said Alisa G. Cohen, an Indianapolis attorney representing Jones. "Didn't the judge get the memo that it's not up to him what constitutes a valid religion?"

Even the U.S. military accommodates Wiccans and educates chaplains about their beliefs, said Lawrence W. Snyder, an associate professor of religious studies at Western Kentucky University.

"The federal government has given Wiccans protection under the First Amendment," Snyder said. "Unless this judge has some very specific information about activities involving the child that are harmful, the law is not on his side."

"That's blatantly unconstitutional," Orentlicher said. "Obviously, the judge can order them not to expose the child to drugs or other inappropriate conduct, but it sounds like this order was confusing or could be misconstrued."

[Amalcas]

If there is a discrepancy between the belief system as represented in a private school and that of the parents, its fairly obvious, legally, that the parents' beliefs should win out. Then again, its questionable how it could be considered a case at all.