To laugh at the request to be godparents

[Woollypullover]

My friend's daughter, who we've been very close to throughout her life, has asked me and DH to be her baby's godparents.

We're both atheists and of course, therefore, didn't have our own DC christened.

She knows all of this, but still asked.

AIBU to think this is a ridiculous request?

You might not be living in Britain right this second but you are a British citizen. You know that christening ceremony and church weddings aren’t just about religion. They’re a cultural tradition.

You’re not in England then OP?
Because the Church of England is the established church here even though people are free to follow other religions of none.
This makes it different from, say, France which is a secular country.

yes, of course you'd be U (and very rude) to laugh at someone who has asked you in good faith to be part of something, which, whether you agree or not, clearly means something to them.
Just say 'no thanks, not for me,' or 'thanks for thinking of me but I wouldn't feel comfortable with it,' no need to laugh.

This goes back to Henry 8 when the King became the Supreme Governor of the Church of England.
saying England is not a Christian country would be like saying it’s not a Monarchy.
you may not like it or agree with it but it is a matter of fact.

Good Lord, how rude of you.

it’s a huge privilege to be asked to be a godparent- your friend’s daughter obviously thinks a lot of you.

But to laugh at the invitation? How utterly rude.

Ask them to give the job to someone who’d actually appreciate it.
That way the pool of interested adults is even larger!

It is religious as far as the Church is concerned. It marks the child's acceptance as a Christian. The parents and godparents make promises to bring the child up as a Christian. However, most parents these days just go through the motions and have a party.

Actually it is a religious thing. Otherwise you are a mentor, sponsor, favourite aunt …. Call it what you want but you aren’t a godparent.

She shouldn’t be having her baby christened then. I guess it’s for the Instagram moment.

@Gladicalled - it makes plenty of sense.

Like Voldemort, you can read the book and judge the actions.

Drowning entire populations, smiting cities, turning people into salt for looking over their shoulder at their burning home (hello, Hades and Eurydice similarities), sending his child down in human form to be tortured for some bizarre rule of his own making that says suffering by one man pays the price (to god) for other people’s sins (that he decides are sins and no one else). It’s a rigged game with an umpire who changes his mind.

God as a literary character is capricious at best, and by most standards a right bloody wrong un.

That doesn’t mean the God individual people worship is a rotter. Religious beliefs are very personal.

Actually op we do. Our state religion is CofE and the Head of State (HM the King) is also Head of the CofE. It’s also part of the constitution in terms of the Lords Spiritual and the CofE has many privileges in law including national holidays being based around the Anglican Church calendar. Our legal and cultural life is based on Christian values and has been that way for around a thousand years. Every day in parliament they have morning prayer (lead by an Anglican chaplain) and the church is a part of national life in many areas, for example in education.

That’s unfair.

They may be doing it because “it’s what you do.” Having an occasion to celebrate the child is more than just presents and a party. Lots of people aren’t comfortable forging new ways to mark events now that religion has died back, when they still have an urge to mark those occasions.

Most cultures have a ceremony welcoming a baby to the community. For centuries a Christening (baptism) was ours.

Not everything is just cynical.

Or maybe it means more to them than they admit to the OP because of the OP's attitude...

It's a promise to keep god in the babies life 🤣. Why bother christening a baby if you're not Christian?

Don’t be ridiculous. My not religious parents christened me in the 80s. It is a tradition. To celebrate the baby and yes, to have a party.

Because it is a tradition going to centuries.

Wow you are equally rude. If you have “rtft” you’ll understand that the majority of people don’t see it as religious either. It is cultural / a tradition. Unless explicitly stipulated, most people have religious funerals in the UK - and that’s nothing to do with their beliefs. Again, it’s cultural / tradition. HTH.

Most cultures have a ceremony welcoming a baby to the community. For centuries a Christening (baptism) was ours.

Indeed. We still have the semblance of this welcoming ceremony as Christian, but most CofE clergy understand that it’s a symbolic way of welcoming and naming children in a community and offering them other adults (godparents) as extra adult support and guidance.

It’s pretty easy to understand cultural importance of a christening even for non-believing “cultural Christians.”

Otherwise, I hope all of you agreeing that the OP is not unreasonable are not making any plans for Christmas. You can all take the Christmas Day shifts at work.

It’s about welcoming a new member of the community. A christening in church is open to anyone. It’s about saying - here’s a new human and we’re all going to look after her.

It's not though, because being part of a Christening as a godparent includes having to say you promise to help the child grow up in the faith and so forth.

It's not the same as enjoying the traditions of Christmas (many of which pre-date Christianity), because you don't have to go to church or engage with any of those parts of it.

It’s exactly the same. Many people go to the carol services at the church, watch nativity plays etc and they aren’t religious. Christianity is part of British culture.