In a shocking example of
anti-religious (and anti-Christian) bias, a New Hampshire judge, Lucinda
V. Sadler, has ordered a home-schooling mother, Brenda Voydatch, to place
her daughter in public school—largely to expose her to “a variety of
points of view” other than the strong Christian beliefs which both mother
and daughter share. The order came as a result of a dispute between
the girl’s mother and father, who divorced when she was an infant. The
father argued that ten-year-old Amanda Kurowski should be in public school
to improve her “socialization”—but also because he “believes that
exposure to other points of view will decrease Amanda’s rigid adherence to
her mother’s religious beliefs.” The court found that “Amanda is generally
likeable and well liked, social and interactive with her peers,
academically promising, and intellectually at or superior to grade
level.”
Nevertheless, Judge Sadler agreed with the conclusion of a Guardian ad
Litem that being raised as a strong Christian was preventing her from
learning “to critically evaluate multiple systems of belief and behavior.”
Our friends at the Alliance
Defense Fund have taken up Brenda and Amanda’s case, noting both the
fundamental right of a parent to direct her child’s education and the
clearly unconstitutional nature of a decision based primarily on
disapproval of strong religious beliefs.
Tony Perkins heads the Family Research Council. This article was excerpted from the Washington Update that he compiles for the FRC.
