To not want my child christened just for education?

[segc94]

I'm not catholic or Church of England. I'm not religious at all.. have more beliefs in Buddhist teachings than anything.
So I don't see why I would get my DD christened into a religion I have no beliefs for?
However I'm feeling pressured off my mum to "do it just so she'll get into a better school", which I feel would be hypocritical on my behalf. Also a bit disrespectful towards the religion...
My DD is only 3 weeks old but I feel like this is going to cause a lot of arguments nearer the time. I've always said I'll let my daughter choose her own beliefs but feel like I'm going back on this if I get her christened.

Where I am, discriminating on the basis of religion amounts to racial discrimination. There are schools without preference for Christian's where 90%-100% of pupils are from an Asian Muslim background, whereas in my daughter's class of 30 in a church school (where her being baptised and DW attending church helped her get in) I think there are about 3 from that background.

Please don't do this op.

If your'e not part of the religion then it's an absolute piss take.

I had this. Totally lapsed, yet family keep going on about how my child should be baptised even if I don't believe and how it will help them get into a better school etc. But why should I pretend just to please those around me? At home we learn about my old religion and many others. People get so upset over this. But my kids are and will be fine. OP it's your decision to make alone. Stick to your guns. There will always be people who will try to impose their will/beliefs on you. Who will tut and shake their heads at you for apparently making the wrong "choices". There is no one right way. Do what is best for you and your family.

This is an interesting thread. Without knowing where you are and the schools you'd be looking at, it's quite hard to say.

Round me, being christened isn't enough - you also need to attend church at least every other Sunday (and some schools specify a particular church as having higher priority).

I do know of some people who did the whole christening / church attendance thing and still didn't get a place. The school they wanted had too many siblings and children who also fulfilled the church requirents but lived even closer. If you were attending only to get your kids in, that would be completely maddening.

However, if simply getting your child christened would be enough then it may be worth doing, just to have some choice. You are a parent before you are an idealist.

It's worth bearing in mind that pretty much all schools have some form of Christian teaching / collective worship.

I didn't think being baptised was a requirement for faith schools now?
My granddaughter goes to a Catholic school that used to insist on you being Catholic and baptised but now it takes other denominations with no baptism necessary. They do insist on brainwashing,...sorry RE lessons though.. My granddaughter has never been baptised.
I'm not happy about religious schools at all.

It depends on the school, Gotta. Voluntary aided schools tend to have more power over setting their admissions criteria than do voluntary controlled schools. Most VA schools are Catholic. Obviously there is variation within each category, and a lot of this is to do with how much local demand there is. The more high-achieving - and therefore popular -
your school is, the more opportunity you have to set very strict admission criteria that keep out non-Catholics/non-Anglicans.

I know people often say faith schools are "better". But I find it hard to categorise a school as good, however excellent its results, if it insists on telling lies to children. That's pretty fundamental for me.

It depends where you live.

We moved house because the best local secondary was religious and we are atheist.

This was sealed for me when a relative told.me my children "would go to hell" if they died as they weren't christened. I didint want to be a part of anything like that

My sin in law said that to my daughter when she said she didn't want the children baptised.
He is a non practising Catholic and my daughter is atheist. That just made her more determined not to have them baptised because she couldn't believe anyone would believe in a god that would condemn a child to hell.

I doubt if there is a Catholic school that doesn't prioritise Catholics (I'm happy to be corrected). However, if they don't fill all their places, they will then take anyone who fufills their other admissions criteria.

Son not sin!...Freudian slip

Firesuit- it is not a question of how much the church contributescontributes, it is a legal issue .The church bequested schools to the education authorities under a specific set of conditions regarding religious character and sometimes admissions.About a third of schools in the UK came from the church .The government s hands are tied!

@segc94

If it is important to keep education options open, then you should get the kid christened.

I have zero time for schools who push religion on children, and even less time for folk who push religion on me. However, religious schools do tend to have high educational standards. A strong primary education can make a huge difference in terms of getting into Oxbridge (or other respectable universities).

Maybe you have the option of private education, or maybe you already own a house in catchment for a great state school. But if not, it's worth keeping your child's options open. Places at good stats schools typically only become more scarce over time, and houses in good catchment areas typically only become more expensive.

"I doubt if there is a Catholic school that doesn't prioritise Catholics (I'm happy to be corrected). However, if they don't fill all their places, they will then take anyone who fufills their other admissions criteria."

That's true for RC VA schools.

But Catholic VC schools use LEA community criteria and do not prioritise by membership of church or level of attendance.

"The church bequested schools to the education authorities under a specific set of conditions regarding religious character"

They didn't bequest them. They still own them. They did enter into arrangements which mean they work in co-operation with state-owned schools.

Don't even consider doing what your DM suggests, it's none of her damn business. Tell her to do one.

The c of e voluntary controlled primary schools round were all bequested when the education act came in.Theh make up the vast majority of church schools. I think you are maybe thinking of voluntary aided schools who h are much smaller in number

You didn't specify in the earlier post which category of school you were talking about.

Your post was in response to that by firesuit and her DD's school has entrance criteria typical of VA schools, so yes I was answering on that basis.

Also, VC schools have not necessarily been bequeathed to the state. You wouid need to check ownership with each school (many are owned by trusts).

I can see why people do this, but it is hypocritical just to Get them baptized just to get them into a religious school. I was baptized catholic went to church for years till I was about 14 and I felt like religion was rammed down my throat.but now I have nothing against religion. I haven't been to church since my Nans funeral. My daughter isn't baptized she just goes to a non religious school and still does well. Its the ofsted you need to read.

On your knees to avoid the fees....

It is hypocritical to feign any religious faith in order to enter the related School be that a Christian, Jewish, Islamic or other faith School.

Equally it seems rather pointless when couples of no faith insist on a religious wedding ceremony such as a wedding in Church rather than a non-religious ceremony. If you take vows before a God you do not believe in does it not render the vows obsolete?

I agree with you. I did, however, send my child to a Catholic school because on balance, I believed it the best school for him. In all seriousness, give it some thought. It may make a difference when the time for senior school arrives.