Posted on 03/05/2008 7:59:02 PM PST by Howdy there
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 article here:
Our Daughter Libby, a short movie with full details
Courtroom observers discuss Libby's custody trial
Bump
All who’ve supported no-fault divorce and the divorce industry were asking for that kind of treatment. You made your bed. You lay in it.
This mother never asked for it. She was left by the child’s bio-father when the baby was 5 months old.
Then how in the world did he manage to get 60% custody? No, I haven’t read the links.
Hmmmm... encourages sounds like such an innocuous term. I'm highly skeptical of people or organizations who use terms like that to describe their actions/views.
Bet this wouldn’t happen if they were Muslim.
As a child, we attended Sunday school, and Wednesday night service. I knew people who were there every time the church doors were open.
Always figured they needed it more than most.
I’m waiting for them to classify ‘Christians’ as a cult.
Religion Joins Custody Cases, to Judges’ Unease (NYT)
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1969789/posts
And I had trouble digging this one out:
Why Christians Make Good Parents (Please read about this tragic case)
www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1974878/posts;
it shows as having been pulled at the poster’s request.
Did you get it pulled because too many facts were showing up?
When the child came for a summer visit, he kept her and a judge in his home county/city awarded him full custody after a partial hearing at which the mom was not allowed to defend herself. His pleadings were full of lies, like "the mother lives with the daughter in a travel trailer."
The reality was that the family owned their own home, and traveled often, using an RV. (Stepfather was self employed and their home was paid for, so they traveled when they could.)
That is just one example of the many lies the bio-father told.
Maybe she wasn’t careful about who she married. It sounds like he isn’t religious at all, so maybe he doesn’t value marriage, and I think she knew that before she married him.
It’s always good to marry someone who shares your same religion, and also agree how you want to raise your children.
I have visited the church several times. I've never heard the subject mentioned and I saw several women wearing pants and more than a few with appropriately applied make-up.
That having been said, what in the world is wrong with teaching your children to dress modestly?
"Parishioners" sounds like Catholicism (or another liturgical church), not a Fundamentalist Christian church.
No, I asked for the mod to remove it for two reasons. 1. The Inside Edition piece had been filmed but had not been shown yet.
2. I did not know if the family was going to appeal the case and thought it best to wait and see.
But thanks for asking.
If you have any questions I will be happy to answer them.
Please keep in mind that there has since been a second trial and the lies and hearsay reported in the first trial have been refuted by the child herself and the records kept by the child's court appointed counselor.
of course they are a tad bit over the top, but we live in a free country. how do Muslims differ from this church?
He was only given custody of the child when she was six, because a judge ruled her mother was too religious.
She was young and unsaved, and obviously the marriage was a mistake.
She was only married to him for a short while before he left her for her best friend.
She has been a Christian and married to her now husband for 9 years.
I’m willing to bet that the judge has kids he couldn’t control and resents seeing someone who’s on the right track.
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