Maryland Family Law

Sharia law in Maryland?

There has been a lot of coverage in the news about the state of Oklahoma's ban on the state using sharia law in judicial decisions.  To date, there has not been an issue raised of using sharia law.  What would happen in the state of Maryland?  Under appropriate circumstances, the courts here can apply foreign law, for example, in determining whether a party was validly married (or divorced) in compliance with the foreign law.  Still, the court can refuse to recognize the foreign law if it is not substantially similar to the protections offered under our laws.  For more information, you can read my post on Islamic marriage contracts.    

Religion and children

Who gets to make decisions about a child's religious upbringing when parents are separated or divorced?  Under Maryland law, a court can award legal custody (major decision-making authority) to both parents jointly, or to either parent.  There are also "hybrid" approaches out there, for example one parent may be the designated tie-breaker, or perhaps if mom is a teacher, she makes the educational decisions, while other decisions are made jointly.  If a parent has legal custody of the child, he or she make the call regarding religious issues.  Sounds simple, right? 

Newsweek has a story about a situation in Illinois, in which the mother has legal custody, however the father is also attempting to expose the child to his religion as well.  Does it matter that the parties celebrated the same religion when they were together?  Does it matter what kinds of religious activities are planned (for example, taking the child to church isn't a problem, but having her baptized is?)  I think the specific facts are going to matter as far as what a judge will enforce.