Custody Order May Not Designate Specific Church Children Will Attend

Tennessee child custody case summary on church attendance.

Heather Lewis v. Michael James Parmerter

The mother and father of four children in this White County, Tennessee, case divorced in 2008, and the mother was named the primary residential parent.  The parenting plan gave the parents joint decision making power with respect to the children’s religious upbringing.  More litigation followed, much of it focusing on the religious upbringing.  In 2015, a psychotherapist offered evidence that the children would benefit from increased visitation and involvement with the father.  However, she also noted that the children expressed anxiety with attending the father’s religious services.  These were based on their differing religious beliefs, and boredom during the service.  The father had agreed to work with the children on reducing these anxieties.

The trial court entered a new order giving the mother decision making power with respect to religious upbringing.  The order also specified that the children shall exclusively attend the mother’s church, but that the father was not obligated to take them to that church during his parenting time.  The father then appealed to the Tennessee Court of Appeals.  He argued that the order violated his and his children’s right to freedom of religious expression as protected by the federal and state constitutions.

The appeals court did not reach the constitutional issues in the case.  Instead, it first addressed the portion of the order granting decision making authority to the mother with respect to religious upbringing.  It cited a previous case which held that when the parents are unable to agree on important matters, one parent or the other must be given the power to make decisions.  In this case, there was clearly a disagreement, and that disagreement was having an impact on the children’s emotional well-being.  The report of the psychotherapist was sufficient evidence to place this power in the hands of the mother.  Therefore, the Court of Appeals affirmed that portion of the lower court’s order.

However, the appeals court could not find any support in the record for the trial court’s order that the children attend only the mother’s church.  While the psychotherapist pointed out anxiety arising from attending the father’s church, she did not recommend that the children be compelled to attend the mother’s church.  In addition, the appeals court noted that the mother did not request that they attend only that church.  The appeals court agreed that designating that specific church made the order more certain, this was not necessary for the mother to carry out her authority to make the decision.

Since the appeals court held that the designation of authority was proper, and that the naming of a specific church was not proper, it did not need to address the constitutional issues raised by the father.  Therefore, it modified the trial court’s order and affirmed it as modified.

No. M2015-01335-COA-R3-CV  (Tenn. Ct. App. Jan. 31, 2017).

See original opinion for exact language.  Legal citations omitted.

To learn more, see Child Custody Laws in Tennessee.

See also Tennessee Parenting Plans and Child Support Worksheets: Building a Constructive Future for Your Family featuring examples of parenting plans and child support worksheets from real cases available on Amazon.com.