Question for those baptising their babies.

megontoast · May 2009

First, I want to say that this isn't a flame towards anyone in particular or even towards anyone at all. I am just genuinely curious.

I have noticed a lot of people today and in past conversations say they are baptising thier LO, even though they don't attend church regularly and/or are not religious. I'm curious what their reasons are for doing it? And I completely understand if you're reason is "because I want to". You're the parent and it's your right. I was baptised as an infant, but neither of my parents ever went to church and we were not raised religiously. I recently asked my mom why and she said "Cause you're dad wanted to". My dad died 10 months ago, so I can't ask him why he wanted to. LOL So, I guess I'm just curious to why non-religious/non-church attending parents do this?

Thanks!

sweetmelissa0707 · May 2009

We were both baptized as children, and my DH's father is very religious and he has an uncle in Germany who is a priest. So, I guess for the sake of tradition and family peace for the moment, but in the future, if our son wants to explore religion (of any sort) we will have a jumping off point to open those discussions.

Karen_77 · May 2009

I don't attend church regularly but that is due to my own lack of self discipline, nothing to do with my beliefs or what faith I want my daughter raised in.

jamie4duke · May 2009

While I don't go to church regularly, I still believe in having faith, and the church where we are baptising Kelsey is where I was baptised, where Teagan was baptised, and the minister doing it was who married DH and I. I have a strong connection to my church.

eris1995 · May 2009

We try to attend church - just aren't that good about it lately. DH was raised going to church every Sunday and his family is very active in our church. In my family we went to church my first 10 years, then moved a couple times and wasn't very active. We know we want to raise our family going to church and believing in God. The first step of that is baptizing.

margarita1365 · May 2009

Well Catholics believe you can't get into heaven if you're not baptized, so that could be a reason. Even if you don't attend church regularly, you can still have this belief.

I myself was never baptized, and am not overly religious. But DH is Catholic, and so is his whole family (my family is too) so it was important to us (myself included) that our baby was baptized.

LoriB00 · May 2009

We do not attend church every Sunday, but we do try to go fairly frequently and we are still baptising our DD. I just believe that if you are a Christian you should have your child baptised whether you regularly attend church or not. Being a Christian really has nothing to do with attending church.

My parents didn't go to a church when I was a baby so I wasn't baptised. This bothered me from the time I realized I wasn't baptised to the moment I was baptised at 24; I really don't want my DD to always wonder why we never had her baptised.

Jenny0908 · May 2009

I do not attend church every week but once DD is baptised I will certainly make more of an effort and once she is attending CCD classes I will make sure we go every week. I want to raise DD in a religion, if she is not interested when she is older I will not be upset if it is something that she loves and brings her peace and comfort than that would be even better.

GASuzuki · May 2009

I promised my mom, and my DH and I told the monsignor who married us we would raise our children within the church. I actually plan on returning to mass on Sundays now.

Connors10 · May 2009

We are doing it b/c both of our families keep asking when its going to happen. Neither of us go to church or have much religion in our lives. But...our parents and gmas all go and think its a "must do"...so, pretty much, we are doing it for their sake. They have been asking us when we were going to baptize him since he was 6 weeks old. Its this weekend. The weekend I work the Relay on Fri. and Sat. I'm tired already just thinking about this weekend. Ugh.

TwoSkis · May 2009

I am Catholic and I do attend Church regularly- try to make it every Sunday- and consider myself somewhat religious. I always bring DD with me and sometimes DH comes along too. He is also Catholic, though not very strict, and since he's an adult it's really not my place to dictate to him his religious traditions and beliefs.

My DD on the other hand, will attend whether she likes it or not until she is an adult. I hope in the meantime that she learns to be a good Christian and Catholic, and to value her religious beliefs. We had her baptized at 2 months old.

Sorry if this is flameworthy, but it bothers me when parents have their child baptized and then the kid doesn't step foot in a Church, except maybe Christmas if at all, until it is time for First Communion. I think if you have your kid baptized, you are committing to raising them in the Church community as an active and Church-attending Christian.

peanutontheway · May 2009

I attend church regularly. In my belief and the way I was raised people are not baptized until they are old enough to comprehend and accept the decision for themselves. That being said, I have not yet been baptized but plan to do so soon. For children, we have a dedication ceremony.

EJS425 · May 2009

Karen_77:

I don't attend church regularly but that is due to my own lack of self discipline, nothing to do with my beliefs or what faith I want my daughter raised in.

ditto

flyrsgirl1 · May 2009

We are baptizing our LO because my DH and I are both Catholic and were married in the church. We were both raised Catholic and our faith is important to us. I'll admit we do not go to church every Sunday (we prob go once or twice a month at this point) but we plan on going more often once LO is baptized.

I guess it is all up to the parents.

Want a personalized experience?

Question for those baptising their babies.

Re: Question for those baptising their babies.

Choose Another Board

Search Boards