Section 373. Religious faith

1.  Whenever  a  child is committed to any
  agency, association, corporation, institution or society, other than  an
  institution  supported  and  controlled  by  the  state or a subdivision
  thereof,  such  commitment  shall  be  made,  when  practicable,  to  an
  authorized  agency  under  the  control of persons of the same religious
  faith as that of the child.
    2. Whenever any child is surrendered, released, placed out, or boarded
  out, in a family, a home or an institution, or  in  an  agency  boarding
  home,  or in a group home, or to an authorized agency, or in the custody
  of any person other than that of a relative within  the  second  degree,
  such   surrender,   release,   placement  or  boarding  out  shall  when
  practicable, be to, with or in the custody of a person or persons of the
  same religious faith as that of the child or  to  an  authorized  agency
  under  the control of persons of the same religious faith as that of the
  child.
    3. In appointing guardians of children,  and  in  granting  orders  of
  adoption of children, the court shall, when practicable, appoint as such
  guardians,  and  give  custody  through  adoption,  only  to a person or
  persons of the same religious faith as that of the child.
    4. The provisions of subdivision one, two and three  of  this  section
  shall  be  so  interpreted  as  to  assure that in the care, protection,
  adoption,  guardianship,  discipline  and  control  of  any  child,  its
  religious faith shall be preserved and protected.
    5.  Whenever  a  child is placed out or boarded out in the custody, or
  under the supervision or control,  of  a  person  or  of  persons  of  a
  religious  faith different from that of the child, or if a guardian of a
  child is appointed whose religious faith is different from that  of  the
  child,  or  if letters of adoption of a child are granted to a person or
  persons whose religious faith is different from that of the child or  if
  a  child is committed to an agency, association, corporation, society or
  institution, which is under the control of persons of a religious  faith
  different from that of the child, the court, public board, commission or
  official shall state or recite the facts which impelled such disposition
  to be made contrary to the religious faith of the child or to any person
  whose  religious  faith  is  different  from  that of the child and such
  statement shall be a part of the minutes of the proceeding, and  subject
  to   inspection   by  the  department  or  an  authorized  agency.  This
  subdivision shall not apply to institutions supported and controlled  by
  the state or a subdivision thereof.
    6. The provisions of this section in relation to the protection of the
  religious  faith  of children shall also apply to minors between sixteen
  and eighteen years of age.
    7. The provisions of subdivisions one, two, three, four, five and  six
  of  this  section shall, so far as consistent with the best interests of
  the child, and where practicable, be applied so as to give effect to the
  religious wishes of the birth mother, and  of  the  birth  father  whose
  consent  would  be required for the child's adoption pursuant to section
  one hundred eleven of the domestic relations law, if the child  is  born
  out-of-wedlock, or if born in-wedlock, the religious wishes of the birth
  parents  of  the  child,  or  if  only  one  of  the birth parents of an
  in-wedlock child is then living,  the  religious  wishes  of  the  birth
  parent  then  living.  Religious wishes of a parent shall include wishes
  that the child be placed in the same religion as the birth parent or  in
  a  different  religion  from  the  birth  parent or with indifference to
  religion  or  with  religion  a  subordinate  consideration.   Expressed
  religious  wishes of a birth parent shall mean those which have been set
  forth in a writing signed  by  the  birth  parent,  except  that,  in  a
  non-agency  adoption,  such  writing  shall be an affidavit of the birth

  parent. In the absence of expressed religious wishes, as defined in this
  subdivision, determination of the religious wishes, if any, of the birth
  parent, shall be made upon the other facts of the particular case,  and,
  if  there  is no evidence to the contrary, it shall be presumed that the
  birth parent wishes the child to be reared in the religion of the  birth
  parent.