Comments on: Religious Custodial Disputes

By: Sandy

Sandy — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 18:17:32 +0000

The whole “my religion is better than your religion” plays out all the time. If you ever take a peek at any Pagan news site you will see it. Most of the custody issues will be just as you listed…between differing religions…Amish/Christian/Muslim/Pagan/etc. and mainly because people may convert after the fact and many Athiests are probably still closet Athiests or are willing to tolerate religious upbringing for the sake of not creating waves.

My guess why you don’t see a lot of it though is not as dominant as many religious won’t marry an Athiest…something about not only the non-believer being dammed but damming them in the process…there is a bible passage about it but I can’t remember. I abandoned that book long ago.

By: Karen

Karen — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 17:55:50 +0000

This kind of story is why I don’t have any affection for the Amish. A lot of people have a romantic notion about how loving and forgiving and simple they are and isn’t that sweet, la-di-dah, but they don’t see the dark side: Clannishness, depriving kids of education, putting them to work early in inherently dangerous settings and shunning family members who leave the community.

None of that is “sweet” in my book, nor is hiding someone from the law and from her father. I wonder whether the authorities have gone looking for her or considered prosecuting the people who are hiding her? My suspicion is that the laws in heavily Amish states need to be updated. For instance, education should be compulsory through high school, not though junior high.

By: Jen

Jen — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 16:10:10 +0000

Naturally judges don’t want to rule on these cases. If you, the judge, point out that cutting off part of a twelve year old’s penis just might be a little disturbing for said kid, you have to admit that, gee, maybe its a little strange that we do this to babies who also don’t have a choice.*

I don’t entirely get why the Amish can refuse to educate beyond the 8th grade. Correct me if I am wrong, but isn’t it illegal to drop out of school before 16? But if you give people an inch, say, telling them they don’t have to pay social securoty like every other damn person, of course they are going to assume they can live above the law.

The 11 year old sounds a little brainwashed, too. Her mother wants her father not to be able to swear or listen to “non acceptable” music and other media in front of Lil’ Brainwashed, but I don’t see how they can require a grown man to turn off the tv when watching tv isn’t illegal.

The judges can’t tell these parents that their really crazy religions can’t be taught unless they admit that all religions are probably a bad idea.

*If I were a circumcised male, I would be PISSED, and probably spend most of my life afraid my parents would chop off other bits and pieces of me.

By: writerdd

writerdd — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 13:48:16 +0000

The way the Amish keep their children from getting a good education should be illegal. I am so fracking sick of religious people getting to break the law and ruin their children’s lives because of their stupid beliefs.

By: Bruce

Bruce — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 05:52:47 +0000

“Was that case worth fighting? In hindsight, no. I haven’t seen my daughter in two-and-a-half years.”

Hey, I feel bad for the guy, but that is complete bullshit. Of course the case was worth pursuing, he was only doing what was best for his daughter. Any concerned parent would have done the same. It’s not his fault that his wife kidnapped his daughter and disappeared into Amish country. She is a criminal and deserves to be prosecuted and lose her custodial rights to their daughter. Just because she couldn’t handle the legal consequences of her actions and decided to break the law doesn’t mean that it wasn’t worth it.