Wise Father Sues to Keep Son out of Christian School

A father is in a courtroom battle, trying to keep his son from attending a Catholic high school.
The parents involved in this case are divorced. David Ryan, the father, is an atheist. The mother is a Roman Catholic. Their son, who is in the eighth grade, attends a Catholic school in Oldham County.

“This is something where it can't be both ways,” said Ryan’s attorney, Edwin Kagin. “We think the constitution wins.”

According to Kagin, when Ryan and his wife got divorced, a judge ordered their son continue attending a Catholic school.

But Ryan is an atheist and wants his son to attend a public high school next year, so Friday, he took the issue in front of a judge in an Oldham County courtroom.

“David feels the orientation and the indoctrination of the church school is harmful to his child,” Kagin said.

According to court documents, Ryan believes if his son continues to attend a religious school, it will attempt to indoctrinate his son into a belief system that he as a parent rejects.

“A view that the world operates in conformity with supernatural forces and not with natural laws,” Kagin said.

Ryan's attorney said this case may just be about one kid and where he goes to school, but there's a much bigger issue at hand.

“The issue really does become one of what does church-state separation mean?” he asked.

Kagin said part of Kentucky’s constitution reads, "Nor shall any man be compelled to send his child to any school to which he may be conscientiously opposed."

Kagin said going by the law, the judge's decision should be easy, but he doesn't know how much the judge will consider Ryan’s son's wishes on the matter.

“My client strongly feels that the best interest of the child is served by teaching the child the courts, as well as all citizens, must obey the law and the constitution under which we live,” he said.

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