On October 21, 1987, Gualberto C.

Castro II was born of his parents Cielito Maranan Castro, a Batangueo who is a member of the Four Square Gospel Church, a well-known Evangelical Church in Davao City in the early 1980s and Prima Chiu Castro, a Zamboangea, whose father is pure Chinese and whose mother is a devout Catholic. Since birth, he has had a smorgasbord of religious practices and conventions including being baptised by a priest and at the same time dedicated by a pastor, saying the novena at 6 p.m. every night but not being taught to do the sign of the cross, and alternately attending church in Temple of Praise, a Pentecostal church in Mabini, and San Pedro Cathedral, one of the biggest Catholic churches in the city. Background of the Case

People with different religions getting married are common nowadays that most communities and even modern churches do not view it as a problem anymore. It is when they have children that troubles with interfaith marriage arise. Sometimes, the differences are just simple and trivial such as how and when to pray, but there are times when the differences are simply too large that some couples decide to separate, especially when children are involved (West, 2010). The 1987 Constitution of the Philippines declares: The separation of Church and State shall be inviolable. (Article II, Section 6), and, No law shall be made respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof. The free exercise and enjoyment of religious profession and worship, without discrimination or preference, shall forever be allowed. No religious test shall be required for the exercise of civil or political rights. (Article III, Section 5).

With increasing numbers of interfaith marriages and high divorce rates, this topic has recently been argued in courtrooms across the country. The results? A hodgepodge of decisions using different standards to establish different rules.

In some cases, the courts will take the wishes of the child into account. In In re Marriage of Boldt, 344 Or. 1 (2008), the state supreme court sent a case back down to the trial court with instructions that the trial judge take evidence about the opinions of a twelve-year-old boy about whether he should be circumcised, an issue on which his parents disagreed for religious reasons. Generally, courts will consider the views of children over 12 on issues of religion as well as issues of custody or visitation generally.

Munoz v. Munoz: Exposure to two religions does not cause harm In Munoz v. Munoz, 79 Wash. 2d 810, 489 P.2d 1133 (1971), the state of Washington's highest court ruled that exposing children to two different religions (Mormon and Catholic) is not harmful in and of itself and therefore does not justify restricting a parent's religious activities.

http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/child-custody-religion-29887.html

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