The Indianapolis Star is reporting that: "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."
What's really bizarre is that Bradford normally hears only criminal cases. Apparently he chose to get involved in this domestic matter because he read a "confidential report" (yeah, right) from a counseling bureau. "'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." So we're not just dealing with a constitutionally-challenged judge....
Posted by geoff2 at May 27, 2005 12:40 AM