Father appeals order in divorce decree that prevents couple from exposing son to Wicca.
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." The parents practice Wicca, a contemporary pagan religion that emphasizes a balance in nature and reverence for the earth.
Cale J. Bradford, chief judge of the Marion Superior Court, kept the unusual provision in the couple's divorce decree last year over their fierce objections, court records show. The order does not define a mainstream religion. Bradford refused to remove the provision after the 9-year-old boy's outraged parents, Thomas E. Jones Jr. and his ex-wife, Tammie U. Bristol, protested last fall. . . .
[T]he parents' Wiccan beliefs came to Bradford's attention in a confidential report prepared by the Domestic Relations Counseling Bureau, which provides recommendations to the court on child custody and visitation rights. Jones' son attends a local Catholic school. . . .
[J]ones has brought the case before the Indiana Court of Appeals, with help from the Indiana Civil Liberties Union. They filed their request for the appeals court to strike the one-paragraph clause in January.
"This was done without either of us requesting it and at the judge's whim," said Jones . . . . [T]he ICLU and Jones assert the judge's order tramples on the parents' constitutional right to expose their son to a religion of their choice.
Why isn't Tom Delay threatening this "activist judge"? Details here from Indystar.com. (via Wonkette)
UPDATE: Divorced Wiccans Fight Judge's Order (AP via Washington Post)