Christening DC if not religious

[ChoccieEgg49]

Friends of ours seem to Christen their DC although don't go to church. Neither seem religious that I'm aware of anyway.

I just wondered what people's thoughts are on this. Is it grabby for gifts etc, or fine, you don't need to be religious/a churchgoer?

I always assumed it was a religious thing, but maybe I'm wrong or times have changed 💁‍♀️

I'm not being judgy - just genuinely unsure

I go to church and my son was dedicated as a baby - very low key, no god parents / party etc just a welcome to the church family with tea and cake after . My friend is not religious and they had a naming ceremony for her son at the town hall which was really lovely and a nice party afterwards. Incidentally when I started looking at primary schools it turns out the decent ones require a baptism/dedication certificate so it did come in handy!

My MiL never attended church yet got all 3 children christened en masse so that they could go to a CofE primary school. Never went near a church again.

Depends where you are.

To get into my DD's CofE primary school it is done on EHCP, children with siblings, children of staff, and then distance from home or small business premises. The school is over subscribed and still taking children of their waiting list.

I checked and only one CofE primary school within 10 miles uses a religious requirement for some of it's places. Don't know if it is over subscribed.

The catholic primary schools take anyone.

For secondary there are some that are more religious so if you can't prove that you spent the last 5 years going to Church regularly whether the school is Catholic or just Christian (the CofE's fall under that), then you ain't getting in. There as there are others that just rely on the primary school criteria.

Haha just what I was thinking! I cherish the christening gifts my children received because they were kind and have meaning due to who gifted them, but I certainly don't feel our lives would have been in any way enhanced by receiving even more chrome-plated hairbrushes in a box, a fourth and fifth "Illustrated Children's Bible", or yet more stuffed animals😂I find it very hard to believe that gifts are the primary reason for anyone to hold a christening!

In my experience, people who christen their children despite not being religious do so mainly because "it's tradition", they want some sort of ceremony to welcome their baby (and why not? Most cultures all over the world have these sorts of rites to mark various stages of life), or they simply want an excuse for a family get-together. But not the card-shop gifts.