Trans affirming baptisms

[HanaJane]

NC for this as potentially outing

A church near me is offering “trans affirming baptisms” today as a pride event - yes performed by the actual vicar.

I am an atheist but I did grow up going to church and understand that baptism is a sacred ritual for Christians and this just really angers me!
Not even sure who I would complain to,
so thought I would turn to Mumsnet for a rant!

As a fellow atheist, I don’t think it is for us to argue about what religious ceremonies a church chooses to hold. If they want to celebrate a person taking a new name or joining their faith or even “the blessing of the new notice board” (I once found myself at that by a mistake), that is up to them and I don’t care.

Baptism is about a person declaring that they want to live a Christian life - or about parents saying they want that for their children. There’s nothing in ir about gender - it’s exactly the same ceremony for everyone. Maybe what your vicar is trying to do is to show that trans people are as welcome in the church as anyone else, and to encourage people who might have been worried about being excluded to come forwards for baptism. That would be totally within the spirit of Jesus.

If they are repeating baptisms that have already been performed, or performing baptisms as a stunt or frivolously that’s sacrilegious. My horror comes less from being a pretty thoroughly lapsed Catholic but more from being a paediatrician: I have been present for a fair few deathbed baptisms. This is important stuff, not theatre.

So it's either:
'normal' religious Christian baptisms but in the chosen name (as I assume most churches would do tbf, if they had a trans person wanting a Christian baptism)

or

a 're'-baptism of the above if they've already had one in a previous identity

or

a non-religious ceremony that is nothing to do with committing to Christianity but more like a naming ceremony to recognise new identity
?

or something else?

If the last one, then it'll make the link between gender ideology and religious belief more obvious - they all rely on some 'inner soul' thinking yet genderists often deny it.

But I agree, if it's not a 'real' baptism then it's a bit offensive to people who use the term to mean what it actually means.

Is this Catholic or another denomination?

But baptisms aren't a naming ceremony. It's where you commit to living your life as a christian. If you've already done that once, you don't need to do it again.

Baptism isn't about affirming your trans identity. That's the problem I'd have with it.

As a Christian I'm not sure how i feel about this.

If it's their first baptism then i can't see what being trans has to do with it anyway.

If it's a "re-baptism" to affirm a new identity then I'm less sure. In the CofE we say "we believe in one baptism" which kind of suggests you can't have another one.

Is it an evangelical church? If so, adult baptisms are normalised and routine and actually central to doctrine. Church members are necessarily "born again" as (adult) Christians because the church believes traditional child baptism is invalid as the child cannot understand and consent to accepting Christ. I can see a well-meaning but not well-versed pastor - or an enterprising church looking for publicity and new members - seeing "trans people" as an "opportunity" here, especially if they've heard tropes like "deadnaming" or "becoming oneself". But I think this goes further than a way of affirming or marking a change of name; the name change is typically a marker of a more fundamental change, and so is the baptism.

Some conservative churches and denominations can also be prone to embracing and even advocating the idea of "transition" as a "cure" for the perceived greater evil of homosexuality - abhorrent, especially when explicitly tied to Pride, but widespread.

Well, the C of E has issued guidance and an invitation
https://www.churchofengland.org/media/press-releases/statement-pastoral-guidance-use-conjunction-affirmation-baptismal-faith
https://www.churchofengland.org/sites/default/files/2018-12/pastoral-guidance-affirmation-baptismal-faith.pdf

I don’t get it. This makes me feel very strongly that we are God’s creation and I am deeply upset that the Anglican Church is saying “we see you have told God he is wrong about you but here’s how to ask Him for his blessing”. I think it’s highly hypocritical.

I sound very fundamentalist when I had never thought previously that I was.

Honestly I’m amazed it’s taken this long for this to happen

And yet the C of E does not allow same sex marriages.

Tells me everything I need to know.

Yeah I get that it’s nothing really anything to do with me as an atheist but I do have religious family and I was baptised myself and it does mean something to a lot of people.

It also seems a little sinister when the church doesn’t allow gay marriage and only allow gay priests as long as they’re celibate, and has an appalling record regarding women priests, they are happy to baptise people to affirm their transness?! I’m sure it’s not the intention of this particular vicar but it does sound a bit like gay conversion?
I know all trans people aren’t gay but for the ones that are same sex attracted, confused young Christians being baptised as your new trans self probably looks more attractive than knowing that as a gay person you aren’t fully accepted in the church.

To answer a few questions, it is CoE just a normal parish church.
From how I interpret the social media posts the idea is to ‘re-baptise’ or first time baptise adults as their new trans identity.
I assume only people who identify as Christians would do this but you never know.

I agree with PP that I think part of my issue is that it seems frivolous and a re-baptism is just not a thing.
The idea of someone being baptised for the first time as an adult with their new chosen name doesn’t bother me in the same way.

Same. I don’t see the need for a trans affirming baptism, you’re the same person you’re before even if you’ve got a new name and genuinely consider that your sex has changed. Your soul hasn’t! Do people really think biological sex is that big of a deal that changing it (if you could) requires a new baptism?

If its a CofE CHurch then they can do a first baptism of a transadult in their new identity. However they cannot "rebaptise" - all they can offer is an "affirmation" of the vows made at baptism - this can involve water and oil but the celebrant should be making it clear that it is not a rebaptism as the CofE believes that you can only be baptised once.

Matthew 7: 21-23

21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22 Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’

"An Affirmation of Baptismal Faith" is not a baptism - it is a way of allowing an adult to say publicly "I accept and myself affirm the baptism my parents chose for me when I was an infant". Whether or not the adult is trans-identified I would expect this ceremony to be in the person's legal name. What it should not be, in my opinion, is an affirmation by the church of trans identity. That is a much more complex area, and the Living in love and faith process mentioned in the linked document has been, again in my opinion, thoroughly biased towards "be kind" without any mention of being kind or understanding to the relatives of a trans-identifying person. The product of a captured church hierarchy.

I definitely get your feelings, and it seems to me that you have a valid theological point which deserves to be grappled with by the church.

It makes no sense theologically and it is really misleading to call it a "baptism." For Anglicans, baptism is a sacrament that can only be done once.

There is really no need to adult "reaffirmation" ceremonies either. There are sacraments that can fulfil that function - confirmation, which also can only be done once, or reconciliation/confession that can be done as many times as people need it.

The whole idea is ridiculous nonsense but about what I'd expect from the CoE.