To christen DS Catholic or CofE?

[TinaTop]

I was christened Catholic and DH is CofE. We got married in our lovely village church which is also CofE, and we attend occasional services there e.g. Easter and Christmas.

We'd love to have DS christened in our village church but have the inevitable concerns about school admission. The best schools in our area are Catholic, therefore it would be better for DS to be christened Catholic at the (big, modern, soulless) church in the nearest town (which we will never attend again).

I'm torn between wanting a lovely little ceremony in our village church that we actually attend, and wanting DS to have the best educational opportunities in the future... WWYD?

Loving the idea of a joint baptism.

“Doesn’t matter about the faith we are raising the child in, or the church family we are joining, it’s all about the school”.

So you're saying Catholic parents raise their children to have higher standards of morality and behaviour, than Church of England parents...?
No, but there are no schools exclusively for CofE. And obviously atheists can also raise their children to be well behaved. But the atheist and CofE kids are more likely to end up in a mixed school with the naughty kids whose families tend not to go to church. Whereas Catholic kids are more likely to go to school exclusively with other Catholic kids who've been raised with discipline.

the op is essentially considering lying, so their DC has a chance at a better school.
I would literally set myself on fire to give my DC a chance at a better life. Wouldn't everyone?

“I would literally set myself on fire to give my DC a chance at a better life. Wouldn't everyone?”

No. And I would certainly not put myself in a position where I had to say to my child “I pretended to have a faith I didn’t believe in and lied repeatedly because I wanted you to go to St Mary’s” I think I would find that quite a ....difficult.... conversation from a moral perspective.

But then, I obviously have “naughty children” because they don’t go to church.

Teaching your children that principles are worth acting on is pretty important in my view.

Catholic kids are more likely to go to school exclusively with other Catholic kids who've been raised with discipline

Do you want to know which school locally has the worst reputation and behaviour issues and which students cause more problems around the town? It isnt the non denomination school, its the Catholic school. So how about you give it a rest with your crap that only religious children are well behaved. Your attitude is exactly what I dislike about faith schools and religion in general.

the catholic school in my village has admission criteria that are something like baptised catholic children who worship regularly, baptised catholic children, baptised Christians of other denominations with regular church attendance.

In practice this means to get a place people baptise catholic and go to mass at least once a month.

it just used to say baptised catholic children but its massively oversubscribed so they changed the criteria to include a regular worship element.

You get my very first

To get baptised just to get into a school is quite insulting to this that actually believe and practise their faith and is morally wrong.

You should only baptise your children into a faith if you actually follow/practise it and believe in it.

All Catholic schools generally require a signature from the local Catholic priest to say that you actually regularly attend church, even if you are of Catholic faith, before accepting a child into school on that reason.

Your comment about their behaviour being better, etc, because they've been raised in the Catholic faith is moot anyway.

Apart from anything else, lots of people play the game that you're thinking of playing so, actually, many children attending the school aren't being raised in the Catholic faith anyway; so you'll get the same behaviours as in any school.

That's not even mentioning the ridiculous and absurd notion that Catholics raise better behaved children than any other faith/non faith family. That would come down to the general morals within the family unit, and not whether they follow a religion.

with the naughty kids whose families tend not to go to church LOL
My DCs are doing fine thanks at least I don’t lie to get them an education, I teach them it’s about the effort they put in.
Hope you have a lovely though!

Lovely party. Soz, I’m an illiterate atheist.

OP are you aware you generally have to show regular church attendance Ie two out of four services over a couple of years, not a couple of services a year?

And, just in case you missed it, under subscribed faith schools are no “better” than any other school in the same catchment. It is the application of selective admissions criteria, whatever they are, which attracts more involved, aware, organized parents. Which selects out many disadvantaged families who are disproporuonatly the ones with issues. So, as ever, social class and money, nothing to do with faith.

I would literally set myself on fire to give my DC a chance at a better life. Wouldn't everyone?

Setting myself of fire would likely be very detrimental to DCs' quality of life so no....

If you're prepared to make the 11+ years of commitment to taking your child to mass regularly, support them through their first holy communion etc then get them baptised Catholic. Font just have a token baptism though. The whole ceremony would be a farce.

Criteria for our local ish faith school is once a week for at least five years.

I'm amused by my typo there...

Obviously don't not font despite the latter being very appropriate for this topic.

Bleuch. I cannot tolerate such shitty behaviour. Very underhand.

But then i'm a heathen and send my child to heathen school with badly behaved children of "other" religions who are totally undisciplined.

Honestly, can you hear yourself OP? Such a mockery of religion. I have no problem with religion, even though i follow none. I do have problems with people who pretend to be religious just to get a step up from everyone else. I assume the CofE/RC schools are 'Mighty White' white?

I'm raising my dc not to be liars & to understand that cheating is a bad thing. By modelling that behaviour.

As multiple PPs have explained, it won't work anyway.

How old is your DS? Ideally a child should be baptised into the Catholic Church within the first 6 months of their life, exceptional circumstances (adoption of older children) excluded. You will need to attend a pre-baptism course at the church prior to the baptism

Christen him in the church that you attend and support.

The ceremony (for anyone of faith) is about being welcomed into the church community. Unless the (big, modern, soulless) RC church is the one you want to be a member of, don't get him baptised there.

Apart from anything else, it is insulting to both of the churches and to all people of faith.

Don't worry, folks, St. Peter will judge her eventually... now, what level/category of sin is lying?

now, what level/category of sin is lying?

Jeez OP i find pretty much everything you've written wrong on so many levels.

Go to the local church you love and forget about faith schools Instead support equality in education

It is the application of selective admissions criteria, whatever they are, which attracts more involved, aware, organized parents. Which selects out many disadvantaged families who are disproporuonatly the ones with issues.

Exactly my point. I couldn't care less whether the other kids at the school are actually Catholic. What matters is that they have aware, involved parents who raise decent kids. If I had the option of another type of school with selective admissions I'd choose that. But the only option available to me for a selective school is Catholic school. I don't want DC in a class with troublemakers from disadvantaged families, which is more likely at a mixed school.

ilikemychicken lying is a venial sin, usually, but can be a mortal sin, therefore lead to eternal damnation. What is the for? These are matters that Catholics take very seriously!