A family with a man, woman, and child signing legal documents at a desk with a gavel and stamp.

Can a Parent’s Political or Religious Views Affect Custody in Oakland County? What Recent Cases Show

When parents disagree about politics or religion, things can get a little heated. What starts as a disagreement between two adults can eventually spill over into questions about how a child is raised, what they are taught, where they attend school, or which religious traditions they follow.

So, can a parent’s political or religious beliefs affect a custody decision in Oakland County?

Michigan courts should not award custody based on whether a judge agrees with a parent’s political beliefs or religious faith. In these cases, the focus remains on the child’s best interests and how the parents’ beliefs, actions, and disagreements affect the child’s well-being.

Michigan Law Addresses Religion

Michigan’s Child Custody Act requires courts to consider a few best interest factors when making custody decisions in these family law cases.

Under MCL 722.23(b), the courts can focus on each parent’s ability and willingness to provide love, affection, and guidance and to continue the child’s education and upbringing in the child’s religion or creed, if any.

However, that doesn’t mean a judge gets to pick a religion for the child. Judges must remain neutral when it comes to the merits of a parent’s religious beliefs. But religion can become a factor when the beliefs or practices at issue affect the child’s welfare or the parents’ ability to make decisions in the child’s best interests.

A Recent Michigan Case Involved a Religious Dispute

A 2025 Michigan Court of Appeals case, Carter v. Basir, is one example. The parents had different religious backgrounds. The father was Christian, but the children were being raised in the mother’s Islamic faith. The case involved disputes over several parts of the children’s upbringing, including religion, education, diet, and medical care.

The court looked at the statutory best interest factors, including the factor addressing a parent’s ability to continue the child’s religious upbringing.

The court noted that the father testified that he respected the children’s Islamic faith, supported their religious practices, and accommodated their religious dietary restrictions, even though he personally had different religious beliefs. The Court of Appeals upheld the trial court’s custody determination and showed that different religious beliefs do not decide the custody outcome.

That’s an important part in these cases. A parent does not have to share the same religious beliefs as the other parent to show that they can support the child’s relationship with both parents and respect the child’s upbringing.

What If Parents Disagree About Religion?

Joint legal custody means that parents share decision-making authority about important issues affecting their children. That means parents need to be able to cooperate on fundamental child-rearing decisions, including issues involving education, health care, discipline, and religion.

A 2022 Michigan Court of Appeals case, Barjas v. Mills, centered on several of those issues. The parents disagreed about homeschooling, raising their child as a Jehovah’s Witness, vaccinations, medical appointments, and other parenting decisions. 

In this case, the Court of Appeals affirmed the trial court’s decision to award sole legal custody to the mother. The court found that the parents’ inability to communicate and agree on important decisions made joint legal custody unworkable under the circumstances.

The dispute was not about which parent had the “correct” religious beliefs. The larger question was whether the parents could effectively exercise joint decision-making authority.

What About Political Beliefs?

Political beliefs are a little different. Michigan’s statutory custody factors do not include a specific point asking whether a parent is conservative, liberal, Republican, Democrat, independent, or anything else politically.

And being politically different from your former spouse is not a reason to lose custody. A parent doesn’t become a less suitable parent because they vote differently, support a particular candidate, or hold controversial political opinions.

However, political disagreements can matter if the dispute moves beyond beliefs and starts affecting the child or the parent’s ability to co-parent. As with religion, the focus centers on the child’s best interests and the parents’ behavior.

Man in blue suit holding gavel above wooden family figures on desk.

What Should Oakland County Parents Take Away from These Cases?

If you’re dealing with a custody dispute involving political or religious differences, you should never think that your beliefs automatically put you at a disadvantage. You need to look at the bigger picture. Your beliefs are part of who you are. But in a custody case, the court’s job isn’t to decide whether your beliefs are right or wrong. It’s to determine what arrangement is in your child’s best interests.

And if you’re dealing with a contentious disagreement over religion, education, medical care, or another major parenting issue, the Law Office of Melissa M. Pearce, PLC, can help. We will make sure a disagreement that seems personal does not become a custody dispute. Schedule a consultation today.