Christenings, Are They A Thing Of The Past Now?

[Bobbisox1]

a lot of my friends say they never bothered having their kid christened and now their Daughters haven't had theirs christened either, My Mum would allow me in till I had mine christened , my grandson is christened, do you think it's a dying trait?

[MargoTester]

I wasn't christened and neither was my son. Only one of his friends had their children done, so yes I think it probably is.

[Vagus]

We didn’t get married in church nor did we have our children christened. We don’t believe in god so why would we?
Many of our contemporaries had their children christened even though they didn’t go to church, and still don’t, which seems very hypocritical to me.
Weddings and christenings these days seem to be all about the ‘do’ and nothing to do with religious beliefs.
Personally I don’t care whether people do or dont, it’s up to them.

[maggiebee]

Churches seem to be used only for "hatches, matches and dispatches" these days, but as time moves on these are becoming irrelevant too.

[Bobbisox1]

I think when looking back 50 years and me living in a very strong Methodist/Mining community, it was expected we were christened and we had any children christened, Mind you, I did go to Chapel back then

[Peter Pedant]

God - good excuse for a rollicking poss up
and er of course to wish the baby a christian future, in the steps of Our Saviour and then back to the booze.....
and canapaaaaaayz

[andy-hughes]

A lot of parents will have their child baptised into the Catholic Church if they want their child to attend a Catholic primary school - baptism is often an aid to entry for such schools.

The order of preference for admission in a Catholic primary - is
Baptised Catholic
Sibling In The School
Living In The Area And Parents Attend Mass Regularly
Anyone Else if there are spaces left.

That means that a visible commitment to the Catholic faith is needed to be sure your child gets a Catholic education.

Ironically, a lot of Muslim parents wish to get their children into Catholic schools, they see parallels with the discipline and pastoral care in the Catholic system that broadly mirror their own educational structures.

Some people enjoy the ritual of a wedding, or are happy to go along with a partner of faith who wishes to marry in church - as I did.

But I do think that it seen as far less important that it was, and is steadily declining as cultural attitudes alter, and neither baptism or marriage are seen as the badges of conformity that they needed to be in previous generations.

[gingejbee]

Christenings, yes...and funerals, too, hopefully.
Direct to crematorium is the way to go...literally!

[andy-hughes]

ginge - // Christenings, yes...and funerals, too, hopefully.
Direct to crematorium is the way to go...literally! //

IU do believe that the ritual of funerals will follow the rituals of baptism and marriage, and die out, but I think the change will be a lot slower.

I think we are programmed far more deeply to need to finality of a 'goodbye' that a funeral offers, and it is built into the natural grieving process.

But again, as the trend of 'straight to cremation' gains popularity, and I believe it will, we shall see the standard funeral service gradually disapear but I think it will be several generations from now before that really starts to take hold.

[Bobbisox1]

Andy that’s true of the Catholic religion as you say, a friend of mine had her christened but not her daughter she had to have her christened when she was 4 to be able to attend the local Catholic school like her brother

[gingejbee]

yes, andy, I agree. I arranged a direct cremation three years ago - way before all the TV ads. And have one planned for myself and OH...but not for some time, hopefully!

[Bobbisox1]

Was it a family member Ginger?

[maggiebee]

I have four grandchildren. Two were baptised as young children and now in their 20s still attend church with their parents who are very active Christians.
Younger two have not been baptised. Neither parent is a church goer, in fact my DIL believes religion is a crutch for those with nothing else in their lives!

[Bobbisox1]

Maggie my Dad never would go to Chapel, he always said “ Churches are for Sinners”

[Peter Pedant]

// a friend of mine had her christened but not her daughter she had to have her christened when she was 4 to be able to attend the local Catholic//

oops c/p .... sozza....
no she didnt have to do anything
she wanted the child to attend an RC school ( the results are better) and so there were criteria to fulfil
No force involved - this is like saying Princess Di had to become a roman - she didnt but by god she tried hard.... ( yes it was a church of sinners, but still not ready for Princess Di, the cardinal-archbishop ruled )

[Bobbisox1]

^^^ you worry me !

[LeonBlank1995]

I have 13 grandchildren, all under 15 years old. Only 4 of them have been Christened.

Even as a religious man, they are quite boring to be honest.

[naomi24]

I don’t think that strict criteria for places in Catholic schools applies any more. I know several children, juniors and seniors, none of whom are Roman Catholic or baptised who attend Catholic schools.

[Bobbisox1]

Probably not Naomi, the girl is now 18+

[Mamyalynne]

When there are places available after other criteria have been accepted then of course anyone can go to an RC School, as Andy's list shows.

All my family are baptised.

[barry1010]

It used to be common for new mothers to stay at home until they had been 'churched'. Thankfully that custom has died out in that form but I've never heard of any child or new mother being refused permission to cross the threshold until the babe is Christened.
All my children were Christened but we never expected/insisted on their Confirmation. Some of my grandchildren have been Christened but not all.