De-Baptism

Have you heard of the de-baptism movement?

From AFP:

More than 100,000 Britons have recently downloaded "certificates of de-baptism" from the Internet to renounce their Christian faith.

The initiative launched by a group called the National Secular Society (NSS) follows atheist campaigns here and elsewhere, including a London bus poster which triggered protests by proclaiming "There's probably no God."

"We now produce a certificate on parchment and we have sold 1,500 units at three pounds (4.35 dollars, 3.20 euros) a pop," said NSS president Terry Sanderson, 58.

John Hunt, a 58-year-old from London and one of the first to try to be "de-baptised," held that he was too young to make any decision when he was christened at five months old.

The male nurse said he approached the Church of England to ask it to remove his name. "They said they had sought legal advice and that I should place an announcement in the London Gazette," said Hunt, referring to one of the official journals of record of the British government.

So that's what he did -- his notice of renouncement was published in the Gazette in May 2008 and other Britons have followed suit.

Michael Evans, 66, branded baptising children as "a form of child abuse" -- and said that when he complained to the church where he was christened he was told to contact the European Court of Human Rights.

The Church of England said its official position was not to amend its records. "Renouncing baptism is a matter between the individual and God," a Church spokesman told AFP.

There are so many ways that children are abused. They're neglected. They're beaten physically and mentally. They're sexually assaulted. There's so much suffering.

To consider baptism to be "a form of child abuse" is ridiculous. It's not remotely in the same league.

Parents share their religious beliefs with their children just as they teach them other principles and behaviors and values.

That's not to say children will adhere to that teaching when they become old enough to take control of their lives.

They're free to reject how they were raised and form their own beliefs.

Don't believe in God. Fine. But to call baptism a form of child abuse is crazy. It's intentionally inflammatory.

I don't call an atheist a child abuser for raising his or her child not to believe in God.

...De-baptism organisers say the initiative is a response to what they see as increasing stridency from churches -- the latest last week when Pope Benedict XVI stirred global controversy on a trip to AIDS-ravaged Africa by saying condom use could further spread of the disease.

"The Catholic Church is so politically active at the moment that I think that is where the hostility is coming from," said Sanderson. "In Catholic countries there is a very strong feeling of wanting to punish the church by leaving it."

People don't punish the Church when they leave. It's a personal decision.

No need to throw a hissy fit about it.

In Britain, where government figures say nearly 72 percent of the population list themselves as Christian, Sanderson feels this "hostility" is fueling the de-baptism movement.

Theologian Paul Murray at Durham University disagrees. "That is not my experience," he said, but concedes that change is in the air.

"We are in an interesting climate where Catholicism and other belief systems have moved into the public, pluralist arena, alongside secularists," he said.

...[B]us-side posters that hit London in January sported the message: "There's probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life."

I really don't understand why atheists are so angry and harbor so much hostility toward believers.

What is the big deal? Don't believe in God if you don't want to.

Reject your baptism. Go ahead.

Tell the world. Publish an announcement, like John Hunt did. Have an atheist pride parade. Buy a de-baptism certificate and display it proudly. Knock yourself out. Whatever.

Why can't people just be tolerant and respect others' beliefs?

I don't feel threatened by atheists. I don't feel the need to bash them or belittle them. I don't understand why some atheists don't take the same approach.

The atheists should simply follow their own advice from the bus posters: Enjoy your life.