To baptise or not to baptise?

Question

This will probably be controversial so please keep it friendly.

My family and I are Catholic and my fiancés family and he are Anglican. However he's very uncomfortable with the idea of baptising the baby and doesnt want the baby to be forced into religion. The issue is where we are (Australia), most private schools are religion based and you're unlikely to be accepted if you're not baptised. I want to get the baby baptised for the sake of choice more than anything. I want my child to be able to recieve a private education if that's what we decide later on. He wont budge, he thinks its idiotic and wouldn't have chosen religion if he was given the choice. I however am glad i was given religion even if im not a believer in god etc. as i was able to attend a private school and it was better for me with regards to learning, structure, being treated like a equal etc.

If you have had the same issue id love to know what you did? I just dont know what to do.

Answer

Baptize he or she wont remember any way. And remind him all kids seak out and question there faith reguardless of how you raise him. It shouldn't matter.

Answer

I'm in Australia too. I'm not sure where you are, but in Victoria to get into a religious private school sometimes baptism isn't enough, you often need a recommendation from your pastor or whoever, a communion certificate etc (sorry if I'm getting my religions mixed up, I'm not religious at all, but a friend just went through the process of getting her child into a Catholic school).
So check out the details, and decide if you want to commit to all that. Also, if you guys already know the area you want to raise your kids, you can check out the local schools now - there may be some awesome public or non-religious private schools in the area that you'd be happy with, in which case it becomes a moot point on the school front :-)

Answer

Ultimately it's a choice between you and your husband. From someone who was baptized and raised Catholic and is now agnostic I can tell you that I never once thought about/felt pressured to make religious choices based on a decision made for me at birth. Plus, It's when you go through confirmation as a teenager that you choose to accept Catholicism as your religion as an adult.

Answer

What an interesting topic and in Australia too!😊.

Anyway I'm the US and my kids go to private school. We are Baptist and although we are baptized, it's a choice each person makes for themselves. That means I had to teach my kids about Christ and when they got to the point that they accepted Christ on their own, they go before the congregation and ask to be baptized. Some people don't decide until they're adults. Anyway up to 8th grade I had them in a private nondenominational school eventhough both had been baptized by that point. My son goes to Bishop Gorman, which is a private Cathoilc school. They accept different religions. In fact they accept Muslims....Muhammed Ali's grandchildren go to Bishop Gorman and some guy named Shabazz Muhammed that plays for the NBA is Muslim and went to school there.

I don't really know about Austuralia but you'd think that Catholic schools there would see the value in opening their doors even to those who aren't actually Catholic. If not, my primary concern would be sending my child to a school that is going to give them the best education possible. Perhaps make a choice based off of how the school ranks academically. Just a suggestion.

Answer

My husband and I are different religions (but both Christian). This is something we discussed and decided on long before we got pregnant or married. These are serious discussions that couples really need to have before becoming pregnant/having children. Hopefully you can come to an agreement. Good luck!

To baptise or not to baptise?

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