Yet one more example of discrimination against the irreligiousinchild custody cases:

[Volokh, Eugene]

    Nothing in the opinion suggested that the court's concern was
promoting continuity or satisfying the child's preferences.  (The child
was 7 at the time of the custody hearing.)  The court did talk about
both items in other sections, but not about religion.  The religious
discussion was, as quoted below, all about what would advance the
child's "spiritual well-being."


________________________________

	From: religionlaw-bounces at lists.ucla.edu
[mailto:religionlaw-bounces at lists.ucla.edu] On Behalf Of Marc Stern
	Sent: Wednesday, September 03, 2008 2:15 PM
	To: Law & Religion issues for Law Academics
	Subject: RE: Yet one more example of discrimination against the
irreligiousinchild custody cases:
	
	
	 
	Before concluding that this was a case of discrimination (which
it may yet well be,I would need to know certain facts. How old is the
child? Did she express soem view on the matter of religious practice?
Did religion play a large role in her pre-divorce life? Was the child
taken to church regularly during the marriage, such that a grant of
custody to the mother might be disorienting to the child?
	Marc Stern
	
________________________________

	From: religionlaw-bounces at lists.ucla.edu
[mailto:religionlaw-bounces at lists.ucla.edu] On Behalf Of Volokh, Eugene
	Sent: Wednesday, September 03, 2008 5:00 PM
	To: Law & Religion issues for Law Academics
	Subject: Yet one more example of discrimination against the
irreligious inchild custody cases:
	
	
	From Buck v. Buck, 4 Pa. D. & C. 5th 238 (Pa. Com. Pl. 2008).
Given Lee v. Weisman's conclusion that simply having a prayer at a not
formally mandatory graduation is unacceptable coercion of religious
practice, wouldn't counting a parent's not engaging in
"religious/spiritual activities [with] the child" against the parent in
a child custody decision -- and counting the other parent's "plac[ing] a
high-level emphasis on religion" in that other parent's favor -- be even
more clearly unacceptable coercion of religious behavior?
	 
	Eugene
	 
	 
	
	D. Spiritual Well-Being

	Father is religious and takes the child to church. Father
currently places a high-level emphasis on religion. The child appears to
be enjoying her religious activities.

	Mother did not testify as to any particular religious/spiritual
activities in which she seeks to involve the child, or any
religious/spiritual activities which she seeks to instill in the child.

	The child's spiritual well-being is better served by being in
Father's custody.
	 
	 

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