Marriage

[PinkFlower]

If your not christened, are you not allowed to get married in a church?

And is it legal/accepted/morally right? to get christened just to get married in a church?

Im not christened, but dream of being married in a church, traditional wedding and all.
will this ever be possible? lol.
TIA. x

[clairey-s]

I think you are allowed to get married in church, if you havn't been christened. Although, your motives may be questioned....
x

[annalou]

I got married in a church without being christened and i attended a c of e school til i was 11 without the need to be christened. my parents left the choice to me and when i had my children christened i got christened too!

[Redbel]

Not really up on the ins and outs of Marriage in church, but just from what I know.....if you want to marry in a Catholic Church you have to have been christened.....if not before the wedding the priest will do the christening before hand.

[Redbel]

annalou..I'm also c of e.......and I didn't christen my daughter as I felt like your parents did....

[annalou]

i wanted my children to attend a roman catholic school and so they needed to be christened to attend and i know i should have followed my own parents line (i.e. leaving it up to them to decide) but thought it was the best thing to do at the time to give them the best possibly choice for their education. learning about all types of religon hasn't harmed me and my 8 year old knows father more about being a buddist etc... than i'll ever know....!

[scoobydooby]

Ultimately it's up to the local vicar. As most of the posts indicate, it's near on impossible to marry in a Catholic church without being Christened (or Baptised) as I think they prefer to say. However, with a C of E church it's all down to the individual views of the vicar. Some are so strict that they won't allow you to have bridesmaids/best man without them being Christened. However, the Baptist and Methodist churches (as opposed to the village bell ringing church) do tend to be less strict about this. It's pretty much the same as a vicar marrying divorcees. If you find you're really stuck, there are plenty of places you can wed these days that would make your wedding feel as traditional as if you had married in a church.

[Ethel]

If you are not a church goer and don't believe in God, then your vows in Church will be totally meaningless.

If you are a church goer and believe in God, get Christened.

[johnny37]

As this is the Law section, and unless I can be corrected, being christened or not is not a legal requirement for anything, marriage, going to church school or anything else. Christians can can marry people of other faiths in a Christian church. If Catholic you have to promise to bring the children up in the faith but how many bother? CE have no such requirement and in fact have the fewest rules of any major religion. I dont think the priest, Catholic or CE, will even ask you for evidence of christening, but God will know that you are lying, which is a sin. However, morally, should you be having a church wedding if you are not a member of the faith? If you are doing it merely for tradition then it makes a mockery of Christianity and would be a sin in the eyes of God. I'm an atheist by the way.

[annalou]

oh how i love atheist's!!

[flip_flop]

I think Ethel is spot-on: I can't understand why people would want to get married in a church if they are non-believers: I suspect it is simply because they would like a decent photo-backdrop.

This is the height of hypocrisy.