Motherfuckers!

We can add New Jersey to the list of states I want to see launched into the sun [Update: or, at least, I would have if I had seen this article when it was first published almost 40 years ago...]:

[...]
Inestimable Privilege. In an extraordinary decision, Judge Camarata denied the Burkes' right to the child because of their lack of belief in a Supreme Being. Despite the Burkes' "high moral and ethical standards," he said, the New Jersey state constitution declares that "no person shall be deprived of the inestimable privilege of worshiping Almighty God in a manner agreeable to the dictates of his own conscience." Despite Eleanor Katherine's tender years, he continued, "the child should have the freedom to worship as she sees fit, and not be influenced by prospective parents who do not believe in a Supreme Being."

The "good news" here is that the judge was only allowed to rule in this case because the child was adopted.

[...]
If they fail in their appeal, Eleanor Katherine may have to leave the only family she has ever known and await adoption by another couple whose religious convictions satisfy the State of New Jersey.

I don't know how much more of this shit I can take before I completely snap.