Christening/ baptism should I or shouldn't i?

Person_one

Nicki wrote: »

Some very strong opinions being expressed on this thread. If you personally are an atheist, why do you care what other people do or don't believe? And as for person one :eek::eek: why would you think that bringing your child up to attend church on a regular basis would make them a bad person? Personally, based on the posts on this thread alone, I'd far rather have margaretclare in my circle of friends than you, as you come across as displaying all the negative traits you have attributed to her

Oh no! :rotfl:

margaretclare blamed the ills of the world on people who don't believe in a god. If you think that makes any sense and isn't insulting to those of us who prefer rational thought, i hope the two of you have lots of fun together!

Mojisola

There are so many adults who were raised within a religion who now don't have any involvement that the brain-washing must be very badly done!

It's impossible to bring up children without passing on our way of looking at the world. The problems arise when parents try to force children to believe exactly what they believe and that's not just religious ideas but views on education, race, marriage, etc.

With our children, we've taken the line that this is what we believe about x, y and z. Other family members have different views. Some people in society have extremely different views. You need to look at them all and see what makes most sense for you.

poet123

Strange isn't it how people pick up on one biased post yet not another depending on which side of the fence they sit?

You can have good atheists and bad atheists, you can have good Christians and bad Christians. Why not live and let live and refrain from decrying the other camp.

pigpen

CH27 wrote: »

Children also need to be baptised if you want them to attend a Church school.

I am not baptised at all and went to a catholic school..

I dont see how a child can choose a religion when they are older unless they have had some experience of it as a child.. you expect them to make an informed decision without giving the information on which to base that decision.. it makes no sense.

Saying they can decide when they are older is a cop out for; you (as a generic term not you as an individual so no finger pointing here ) dont want to have them baptised or cant be bothered.. You wouldnt make a decision on something which is potentially a large part of your life without looking into it first and having some information so why would you say your children can?

I feel it is important for them to attend, especially if the parent/s do so they can gain experience of what it is like and how to act and what the procedures are.

My children are baptised.. well.. most of them.. the baby isnt done because the tw4t vicar refused to do her because my XH is a f-quit and apparently it is all the babys fault! .. but thats a thread and a half in itself! they go to an ordinary halfway decent primary school and the catholic high school because it is the best school hereabouts I dont have to pay for!

usually church schools have more money to spend on staff and equipment so the standard of teaching is higher.. though not always..

Person_one

The idea of them 'choosing when they're older' is always interesting to me, because if they only know one religion and are immersed in it, all their friends and family have that religion, its not exactly a true choice is it? Unless you either rotate between church/mosque/synagogue/gurdwara/temple every week, or avoid all of them and teach comparative religion theoretically, your child is highly likely to go down the path of their parents and peers, or to steer clear completely.

Lotus-eater

Person_one wrote: »

I was christened, no idea why as I was then raised in a thoroughly godless household!

However, you wouldn't believe how many people think its ok to insist that I am in fact a Christian just because I was, despite my current beliefs! Its a minor irritation, but I really do wish my parents hadn't wanted that party so much...

You reminded me that I am christened, I believe I've ever told anyone about it, or been asked, or even remembered it for years and years.
Afair, all the middle class kids about me were christened then, it was a std thing, even though my parents hardly ever went to church.

I'm struggling to see how in the slightest, it would upset or bother me even for a second.

vroombroom

we're getting our littlun christened, probably next year, for a number of different reasons - eg my grandfather (who he is named after) was a regular churchgoer, the school we want him to go to requires kids to be christened etc

I was raised a Catholic and used to go to church when I was younger. I stopped going when my father had an affair kind of put a dampner on going x

January20

margaretclare wrote: »

The idea that 'they can decide for themselves when they're old enough' is fine just so long as they DO decide on something rather than nothing. Wasn't it Hilaire Belloc who said that 'when people stop believing in God they don't believe in nothing, they believe in anything'. And that, in essence, is what's wrong in today's world. We have lost the 'moral compass' that we once had, the Ten Commandments, the Golden Rule.


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margaretclare, I usually respect your opinion greatly however I find this quote highly offensive! I do not believe in God but that doesn't mean I believe in anything. That doesn't mean I have no morals, no code of conduct. It doesn't mean that my parents brought me up badly or that I brought up my dd badly!

The world is the way it is today not because people don't believe in God but because some people have no morals, some parents refuse to discipline their children properly and teach them about respect, because the people in authority are scared to act to make our society better.

The moral compass of the church was based on fear. It was a nice tool to control the masses who had a pretty rubbish life in poverty and pain but didn't rebel because they hoped to go to heaven when they died and be by the side of God. That I don't want to live my life like that certainly doesn't make me a bad person who believes in anything!

Person_one

Lotus-eater wrote: »

You reminded me that I am christened, I believe I've ever told anyone about it, or been asked, or even remembered it for years and years.
Afair, all the middle class kids about me were christened then, it was a std thing, even though my parents hardly ever went to church.

I'm struggling to see how in the slightest, it would upset or bother me even for a second.

Maybe your friends aren't as irritating as mine?

smartpicture

I'm not catholic but my husband is, our kids were brought up catholic so were baptised and did holy communion and went to church with him most weeks. They were still free to make their own decision and from teenagers pretty much decided not to follow the faith. I just asked their opinion and they both said they were glad they had the baptism and holy communion, it helped them fit in with their friends, it helped them get into a catholic secondary school, and it kept their options open for the future, eg if they want to marry in a catholic church later.