Baptism for non religious reasons?

[Penguin2]

Has anyone out there had their children baptised for non religious reasons, eg to get them into a school or to provide them with a broader social life? Are you prepared to talk about it?

in an ideal world i would like fro all children to get the same education regardless of where they go to school.

I would like to think that children from non-believing homes are being given the opertunity to discover God and Jesus which they would otherwise miss out on. In some ways i want to say that the places shoudl go to these children over children from christain homes because they're recieving the message at home. however i can understand a parent wanting their child to go to a faith school

beety - he's getting the education i would have loved to have had

It does take a special kind of a person to be married to such people

I agree about the education bit. Wonderful all round education.

And as I posted ages, and ages ago, I would feel unhappy if children were excluded from the wealth of culture that all religious (whether we believe them or not) bring to us. In the same way I would be worried if they were prevented about learning about evolution or contraception. We live in a society that was shaved by Judeo Christian belief. It is now enriched by all the other cultures and reliogions that we have. Our children would be poorer if they were excluded from them.

I'm a very laped Baptist, and the closest I get back to the faith I had as a child is when I have sung Masses, it is a wonderful feeling.

Katzguk, I agree with your point that Christians would also want a faith education for their children. I was just nonplussed that a Christian could be so damning of what must be innocent children. Not my take on the gospels at all.

But would not these "faith " schools if inclusive be just the same in terms of achievement if non selective as other schools?
A big part of ds's schools success is due to the parents supporting the schools ethos. If the parents dont believe you loose that support and so the school becomes like any other school.

no child should be excluded just because of there parents

i think that is the key to these schools, the parents do accept the school ethos and are supportive.

i was once told a fanstatic phrase when is comes to going to church...

going to church makes you no more of a christain than sitting in a garage makes you a car

I dont mean parents dont support the school ethos in other schools but what is it that makes many religious schools perform so well? If it is the intake and you open the intake then it becomes like any other school. People who chose the school as we did because of its religious values would miss out on giving our child a religious education which is surely more important to us than someone who doesnt be;ieve and chooses the school purely for academic reasons.

But you can support the school ethos without being a believer can't you?

My kids go to a C of E private school (so I'm doubly damned I guess! ). No child is excluded on the ground of faith or ability. I am not a practicing Christian, and dh is an athiest, but we agree 100% with the school ethos, ie that the children should be educated in a loving environment to reach their goals, whatever they are. And in doing so, they should consider the welfare of others. I agree with that 100% and so does dh. And we are very supportive of the school. And so are the Muslim, Hindu and Jewish parents that send their kids there, and well as the rest of us sinners I honestly don't think that the two things are mutually exclusive.

sorry meant to say even parents who don't believe will accept the school ethos, which must come down to love and respect.

But ds' school ethos is all about being a believer and doing things through Christ. If you dont believe in the basic foundations and aims of the school how can you fully support what it is trying to achieve?

well put hmb thats what i was trying to say!! albeit badly.

its more to do with parents who take an active role in their childs education, they make these school what they are

And I think that part of the reason that faith school do well is that they have basic standards of behaviou which they demand and the parents agree with the demands. Nothing to do with faith as such, just a shared set of morals.

Most of the kids I teach are amazing, fabulous young people. They want to work and I want to teach. They come from families with good solid vaues of respect and hard work, honestly and deciencey. trouble is I also teach a very small number of kids who wouldn't know what a moral was if it bit them on the arse. And they can easily wreck the education of the majority. To my mind it all come down to values (God I sound like my old mother)

His school is catholic and at least one parent has to be practising catholic and child has to be baptised.

Does that then mean other nonreligious schools dont have the same morals? WHy should a religious parent or religious school have more morals than an atheist parent or non religious school. Surely kindness etc are expected in all schools?

no sorry hecules i disagree, yes its about being a believer but its moreso about being a good person about loving your neighbour, respecting others being supportive and trying to find the good in people. just the role model Jesus was too us

btw I do know what you mean, I am playing devils advocate.

But i have all of those morals and I'm not a believer. I expect ds to have them too.

the morals bit i think goes with being the type of parent who cares about they childs education enough to move into a good ctachment area or too have a child baptised to get them into a church school.

No, the school I teach in has the same basic ethos. The point is was making was that because some parents do not choose to send their kids to my school, they don't agree with that ethos, and the kids misbahave because they don't hold to the school ethos either! Faith schools have more competition and parents either, a. share the ethos because they share the belief system or b, they agree with the ethos enough to fight to get the kids into the school. Either way everyone is singing from roughly the same hymn sheet (as far as broad brush 'ethos' is concerened). And this level of continuesty is good for the kids.