The mother disputed this contention. The mother contended that the benefits of Catholic School far outweighed any benefits of attending public school. These benefits included that; 1) The Catholic school was closer to the child’s home; 2) The child’s new siblings also attended the Catholic school; 3) A significant percentage of the pupils were non Catholic; and 4) Most of the teachers were regular teachers, and they were not nuns.
The Appellate Division reversed the trial court. The case was then remanded then matter to the trial court for further proceedings. The Appellate Division held that while it could not choose between religions or prevent the exposure to competing religious ideas and rituals, a court should seek to minimize, if possible, any conflicting pressures placed upon a child. Moreover, the Asch court further held that it would enforce the terms of the PSA that provided that the child would be raised in the Jewish faith. Finally, the court held that it was not in the best interests of the child to be raised in two different faiths because it would create too much pressure for her.
b. Brown v. Szakal, 212 N.J. Super. 136 (Ch. Div. 1986).
Here, two children were born of the marriage between the plaintiff mother and the defendant father. The plaintiff, was born to Catholic parents and she was also reared as a Catholic. However, prior to marrying the defendant she converted to the Jewish religion. Nevertheless, the plaintiff participated in a Catholic marriage ceremony. The children were baptized and they attended Catholic church services both during the marriage and after the divorce.
The parties eventually divorced. According to the PSA the mother was to have custody of the children and was to have “primary responsibility for their religious upbringing.†Some time after the divorce, the plaintiff got remarried to an Orthodox Jew. The plaintiff then began rearing the children according to Orthodox Jewish tradition. Thereafter, the children attended temple services, received Jewish religious instruction, and they observed of Jewish dietary laws.
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