Too Religious to Keep Her Daughter: Are you next?
 

My mom brought this story to my attention yesterday.

Will this be precedent for future cases? I think this is flat out wrong and ridiculous.
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Too Religious to Keep Her Daughter? [Could you be next?]

Inside Edition ^| 3/5/08 | Inside Edition


Posted on 03/05/2008 7:59:02 PM PST by Howdy there

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/...stody.600x.jpg

11-year-old Libby Mashburn is at the center of a child-custody battle with far-reaching consequences.

Libby's mother says she lost primary custody of her daughter because she was deemed to be too religious.

[A Judge in Alabama ruled that Libby could not be taught the Bible by her Baptist mother.]


Libby tells INSIDE EDITION, "I think children should be able to choose who they want to live with."


Libby's mom Laura Snider is a member of an [large] ultra-conservative Baptist church in Alabama. Libby spends several hours each week attending sermons. On weekends, she goes to Sunday school.[She attends church at the normal times, and for normal lengths. Sunday school, and Sunday AM and PM worship, and Wed. night service.]

The church encourages its parishioners to dress modestly, so Libby's closet is filled with skirts that fall below the knee.


Libby's mom, like other women in the church, doesn't wear makeup or swim in public. When they do swim, they don't wear swimsuits, instead they wear long dresses that Libby shows INSIDE EDITION.


They shun popular culture, so Libby doesn't watch much TV. She's heard of teen idol Hannah Montana but says she has never listened to her music.
[However, as a homeschooled 1st grader, Libby had visited Nepal, and many states in the US. She also tested above 3rd & 4th grade levels in most subjects when she was only 6.She scored on a high school level in vocabulary on the CAT.]


The question is: Should Laura Snider's religious beliefs be a factor in determining custody in a divorce? Libby's mother says the Alabama Supreme Court thinks so. The court awarded 60% custody to Libby's father, William Mashburn.



"We've been punished for our religion," says Brian. "We've been harassed for our religion. You know when you take a child from people because they're too conservative to put her in a situation because that's more "mainstream"...I don't think that's what the law is there to do," he tells INSIDE EDITION.


Across the country, child-custody disputes with religion as the flash point are increasing, and Libby is just the latest kid to get caught in the middle.


More indepth articles here:

Article in the NY Times
Our Daughter Libby, a short movie with full details
Courtroom observers discuss Libby's custody trial

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What say ye?

Re: Too Religious to Keep Her Daughter: Are you ne
 

BTW, this woman is Baptist.

Re: Too Religious to Keep Her Daughter: Are you ne
 

I have a feeling we are not hearing the entire story.

On it's face, this is very alarming.

Re: Too Religious to Keep Her Daughter: Are you ne
 

Well, as Baptists, these folks don't even have THE TRUTH and are unsaved.
Why do we even waste time talking about them?

Re: Too Religious to Keep Her Daughter: Are you ne
 

I would say there must be more issues involved...thousands of kids live by some kind of church rules whether it be baptist, JW or pentecostal kids...even the adventists have their rules along with the mormons...

Hi, Daniel...glad to see you posting.

Re: Too Religious to Keep Her Daughter: Are you ne
 

I would agree... there has to be something more! Otherwise, these children who attend private christian schools would be targeted because they religion non stop when you think about...at home and at school and then at church......there has to be more to this story!

Re: Too Religious to Keep Her Daughter: Are you ne
 

I don't know ... other corroborating stories like the New York Times article states that this religious extremism was the basis the dad's case.

The court I believe also felt that their mom's missionary work took the girl away from her extended family for too long.

Re: Too Religious to Keep Her Daughter: Are you ne
 

But wouldn't we agree with that?

I mean, if the parents are away saving the world while their daughter is being cared for by someone else?

Re: Too Religious to Keep Her Daughter: Are you ne
 

This is a quote from the young girl ... for what it's worth:

“I’m more of my mom’s religion, and my dad sometimes talks bad about my mom,” she said. “He called it a cult, and it’s definitely not a cult. It kind of makes me mad sometimes. Maybe he thinks her religion may be bad for me, but I think mainly he doesn’t like my mom and is using that as an excuse.”

Re: Too Religious to Keep Her Daughter: Are you ne
 

Have any of you watched the video? Especially those saying that there must be more to the story.