Opinion ID: 901914
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Ability to give the child love, affection, guidance, education and to impart the family's religion or creed.

Text: [¶ 42.] The manner in which a parent encourages his or her child to practice a religion is a legitimate factor for trial courts to consider when awarding custody. See Jopling, 526 N.W.2d at 717 (finding of fact that father's unhealthy and confusing religious instruction wherein he paid children to attend church found not in children's best interest was upheld on appeal). In this case, the trial court weighed the relative commitment over time each party had for their respective faiths, and found this factor favored Mike due to his lifelong commitment to his faith. However, the trial court noted that both parties practiced their respective faiths in a manner that permitted Thomas to participate equally. [¶ 43.] While we do not suggest that trial courts must weigh the number of years one parent has attended church against the other parent's attendance, we do not find an abuse of discretion by the trial court in this instance for doing so. We caution that this is but one factor in a child custody determination. We do not conclude that the trial court placed a disproportionate amount of weight on this factor.