Religious beliefs are intensely personal, and even married couples can vary greatly in their practices. Conflicts can arise, however, when co-parents are divorced and one co-parent suddenly adopts a new religion, develops a greater fervor for their existing faith or abandons what was the family faith altogether.
To be clear: You don’t have any control over your co-parent’s practices, but you may have some control over what your children are exposed to when it comes to their religious instructions.
It all comes down to legal custody and what’s reasonable
Custody of a child is actually split into two parts. Physical custody dictates where your child lives and how their time is divided between their parents, while legal custody refers to each parent’s right to make important decisions about the child’s upbringing – including their religious participation.
In situations where co-parents find themselves at odds over religion, the courts may have to get involved. In many cases, the court may take a divided approach, allowing each parent to expose the children to their preferred faith and practices on their own parenting time. This can even be incorporated into parenting plans when it comes to holiday visitation.
Other times, however, the court may decide to step in and put some limits on a parent’s freedom. As always, the decisions are made with the best interests of the children in mind, so the court will typically look at the children’s prior religious exposure and any allegations that a co-parent’s new take on faith is somehow dangerous to their well-being or causing confusion and emotional distress.
If you’ve reached an impasse with your co-parent on the issue of religion and you feel like it is negatively affecting your child in some way, it’s always wisest to explore your legal options.
