Emily Bickford knows the answer to a question no judge should have the power to settle: which parent gets to be right about God. Maine’s Supreme Judicial Court told her on Tuesday, in a case called Bickford v. Bradeen, that on the subject of her daughter’s faith, she isn’t it. Her ex, Matthew Bradeen, now holds final say over whether their daughter attends services at Calvary Chapel Greater Portland, reviews the church’s materials, or spends time with its members. Not because a court found Bickford unfit. Because a court found her outvoted.

The First Amendment bars the government from prohibiting the free exercise of religion. Courts have read a companion right into the 14th Amendment for a century: Parents direct their children’s upbringing, including their faith, without a judge auditing the theology. That’s not a courtesy the state extends. It’s a right the state is supposed to defend against itself. Maine’s high court didn’t dispute that Bickford holds this right. It ruled that the right doesn’t get strict scrutiny, constitutional law’s toughest test, when the dispute runs between two parents instead of between a parent and the state. Apply the “best interest of the child” standard instead — the same test a judge uses to pick a school district. But “best interest of the child” isn’t a constitutional test. It isn’t even a standard with fixed edges. It’s a mood in a robe, and Maine just ruled that a mood can override a fundamental right.