thought this was interesting for parents involved in JW child custody cases....
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/moviesnow/la-et-cruise-divorce-20120710,0,597918.story
Experts said that no matter what the terms of the separation agreement, Cruise will still have a legal right to teach Suri Scientology when she is in his care. Authorities in so-called "spiritual custody" disputes said that while family law judges try to ensure that the interests of children of divorce are protected in matters like medical care and housing, they give both parents broad leeway in choosing a religious upbringing.
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"The general rule is the courts will defer unless the consequences are really detrimental to the health of the child — a threat of immediate and substantial harm," said Jeffrey Shulman, a professor of law at Georgetown University who has written extensively about the issue and believes that standard doesn't protect children sufficiently.
In the case of Cruise and Scientology, a judge could intervene if the religion was used to turn Suri away from Holmes because she was not an adherent, Shulman said. "The courts could say to Cruise, 'You cannot conduct yourself in a way that alienates the child from Katie Holmes.' But mere doctrine may not be enough for the court to do that."
Courts won't rule on the merits of a particular religion, New York lawyer Malcolm Taub said. "They would not say that Scientology is not a valid religion so we're going to award [sole spiritual custody] to Katie Holmes," Taub said.
Speaking generally and not in particular regard to Scientology, Alton Abramowitz, a family law attorney in Manhattan, said, "There are ways of dealing with radical beliefs that still allows the parents to practice what they believe and expose the child to those beliefs."
But there are limits. Not that long ago, Abramowitz was involved in a case where a father's religion called for animal sacrifice. The mother objected, the lawyer said, with the court ruling "that no animal sacrifices will be performed in the child's presence."