M. B. v. J. B., County of Nassau (Stack, J.)

Major Keywords: Religious Decisions and Upbringing

Determining religious upbringing of children after an interfaith divorce. Plaintiff Wife, raised in a Catholic home, and Defendant-Husband, a Jewish man, settled all issues in their divorce except for the religious upbringing of their four children: three sons aged 11, 8, and 4; and one 6-year-old daughter. During their courtship, Husband clearly stated his goal of raising children in the Jewish tradition. To that end, Wife converted to Judaism, the couple had a religious wedding, and the elder two sons were enrolled in Hebrew school. After the birth of their fourth child, Wife expressed a newfound desire to return to Catholicism. The children were in her physical custody, as per the divorce settlement, and she wanted them to be removed from Hebrew school and raised in a Catholic environment. The Court noted that the touchstone of its decision must be the best interest of the children. The Court gave great deference to the couple’s clear agreement before and during marriage to give their children a Jewish upbringing. The Court also noted that Wife’s wholesale denunciation of the moral worth and spiritual value of Judaism exhibited a lingering resentment of the failed marriage. Wary that this disdain may confuse and hurt the children (especially the two boys who had already begun studying for their bar mitzvah), the Court held that the parties’ initial agreement on religious upbringing should be maintained. Finding that a drastic change in religion would not be in the children’s best interest, the Court held that Father would have ultimate decision-making power for all religious upbringing matters, that the children should remain enrolled in Hebrew school, and that neither parent should speak ill of the other’s religious preference in front of their children.