Can you have yor child baptised as both a Cof E AND a Catholic?

[Trestired]

Just wondered if this was legal? Could you do both so that the child could decide for themselves when they are older which, if any, religion they would like to be.

Hypothetical question.

You could allow your child to decide which, if any, religion they wish to follow when they are older by not having them baptised full stop, surely?

The answer is, no. The baptism in each of these denominations is accepted by the other. They are not different religions either as they are both Christian.

Yeeeeeees...but, and I can see that this is totally immoral, but what if you wanted them to get a good school and wanted them to have their options open?

If you do neither they can still decide when they are older which, if any, religion they would like to be.

Will be interesting to see the replies, but I would expect both churches to take it badly. A bit like promising to marry two people.

Oh well if that is the motive then campaign for all faith schools and any schools that reject pupils so that they can get better scores to be closed and their teachers/pupils redistributed.

They don't get better scores because god intervenes you know.

You can have a non denominational Christian baptism, but you would need to ask around not all churches do them

No.
You cannot do it with either churches permission unless you lie a lot.
As you want to do it to manipulate school choice options that may not bother you.
I couldn't be that dishonest.

If you were looking at the school thing then the answer is that Catholic schools are sometimes fussy about children being baptised catholic (before the age of 2) whereas CofE schools always go by attendance, so if that was your only consideration you'd baptise Catholic (and attend 2 services a week, one of each, from the age of 2).

Again, it is a hytothetical question, and I can see why both churches, quite rightly would be exceptionally pissed off...I just wondered.

Thanks campingshop.

I think I was just thinking about the number of parents who are not religious, but who send their children to 'church' schools because of the 'better' education that they think they get, and wondering how far they could go to keep their options open.

And for the record, I wouldn't do it. I'm firmly of the opinion that children should make their own minds up.

Yes, parents would have to lie a lot, but if that didn't bother them...?

Though if you believe their immortal soul to be in danger for the time that they are not baptised, you would clearly feel less comfortable about leaving them unbaptised while they grew to an age to decide for themselves.

(That may be a concern more prevalent in my grandmother's generation than ours, mind.)

A friend of mine was baptised by his (1 catholic, 1protestant) parents
in the kitchen sink, with the intention to avoid sectarian difficulties with the wider family but to make him Christian in the eyes of God. This might work if it's your baby's soul you're concerned about, but not be so helpful for schools admissions later.

If you want to get them into a church school (certainly secondary) you need to do a lot more than get them baptised eg attend church 3-4 times a month and make additional practical contributions to the running of the church eg Sunday School teaching for several years. These requirements alone would make it almost impossible for anyone to bet on 2 horses.

For the RC church your child would usually also have to attend Sunday School most weeks and have made their first communion as well which is a big commitment.

Re the baptism issue, I didn't make it clear that baptism is a once in a lifetime experience, you can never be re-baptised and if there is any uncertainty an individual has a conditional baptism.

Ah. So, even if you didn't have any morals and were quite prepared to pull a stunt like that, you most certainly wouldn't have the time. And if you were ony doing that sort of thing for educational reasons, and didn't really believe in any sort of God, you pressumably wouldn't fancy double the indoctrination...

Perhaps it was a stupid question. Just came about because I'd been reading and watching some Richard Dawkins stuff and thought it was very interesting thinking about how far people go in doing things that they don't believe for their child's education.

DH was initially baptised protestant because they were at the time living in Belfast with his father's protestant family.

When they moved back to England, his mother got them re-baptised Catholic so she could go to church with them (she is RC). He was confirmed but is now non-practising RC and is now married to me (practising Anglican).

DS was baptised Anglican because I'm the one who goes to church. He can decide for himself when he's old enough whether to stay, go elsewhere or nowhere.

So yes it's possible.

Also, a lot of young folk at our church, who were christened as babies, decide to go for full immersion baptism as a testimony. Again no problem.

I wonder if anyone has done it. If you are happy to lie about your religious views to be in one church, then theoretically, it wouldn't bother you liying to 2 as you don't believe it anyway.