Indiana Appeal of Order Prohibiting Raising of Child as Wiccan

In Indianapolis, Indiana, an unusual joint custody decree is being appealed. In granting a divorce to a couple, both of whom are Wiccans, a judge prohibited either parent from exposing their child to "non-mainstream religious beliefs and rituals". The Indy Star reports today that even though both parents objected to the order, the court entered it after reading the report of the Domestic Relations Counseling Bureau. Represented by the Indiana Civil Liberties Union, the father, who has organized Pagan Pride Day in Indianapolis, is asking the state court of appeals to strike the provision in the divorce decree. He claims that it infringes on the parents' right to control the religious education of their child. Unlike more typical divorce cases in which parents disagree about the religious training of their child, here the order was issued without either parent requesting it.