Anti-church sentiment rises in Europe as more people seek 'de-baptism'
Websites offering informal 'de-baptism' certificates have ballooned to accommodate the increasing number of people who want to be removed from official baptismal registries.
Photo: ZUMA Press 
link:
Comments
Atheism is no more logical than belief in a creator. Agnosticism would be an honest expression of ignorance. We simply don't know how the universe was created and only barely understand some of the laws of physics.
I agree, I think the only really illogical thing is organized religion. Institutions are always corrupt and profit-oriented, so why would the Catholic church be any different?
We 'simply don't know' any of an infinite number of possibilities that could be named regarding reality -- fairies, ghosts, ufos, sea monsters, Bigfoot, mind reading, health benefits of 'insert-anything-here', any of the many ancient or recent versions of gods and/or supernatural powers, .... Are we required to consider all of them to the degree that we must say we are agnostic about them, or can they simply be off the table unless/until there is some sort of reasonable proof to consider? I.... More
Atheism is gaining popularity in great strides during the past few decades, and especially in the last two years. People are getting better educated, and are having problems believing in deities for which there is no evidence to proof they're real.
I know many people in my own circle of friends who have stopped following their religions (not only Catholics) and have reverted to atheism because it's clear and logical.
To be honest, when I first saw the headline I thought "what is a baptism list and how do I get on one". However, after reading it I realized that it was a catholic thing and tied to having extra taxes imposed as well. So I guess that if you are a lapsed catholic you might debaptise to avoid taxes. Baptism is something that I chose as an adult.
I believe this is a Catholic Church problem. Protestant churches don't do this.
what really gets me is that baptism is for most part, an involuntary procedure forced upon the young by parents and the institutions the parents have been brainwashed into belonging to (by THEIR parents and their parents' institutions.)
The Church has always had, and continues to have, a means for those formally renouncing their faith-at least in United States. This can be done by contacting their diocesan office who will require a number of documents be signed, etc. One is not de-baptized, but one can formally reject one's faith in Catholicism. I do wonder how non-Catholic fundamentalists who believe in "once saved always saved" have handled this. Probably by denying the person was ever part of God's family.
Evangelical Protestants don't baptize infants and don't believe in baptismal regeneration, so there is no difficulty with consistency. When someone is baptized, nothing happens - it is only a public statement of faith.
People can ask to be removed from church records, but Baptism CANNOT be removed. It is a permanent seal on the soul. Of course those asking to be "de-baptized" don't know this as they are probably not regular churchgoers or they would have realized that it is not possible to be "de-baptized".
On the contrary, Debaptism is an irrevocable rite that cleanses the person of the water and ritual of baptism. It can be removed at will at any time by anyone. It can be done remotely and even anonymously.If you feel I am in error, I respectfully as you to provide the evidence for a baptismal state that still exists on a person who has been debaptized.
Quite frankly, if one person can make up ritual out of thin air and assert it as a truth, so can anyone else. As the late, great.... More
The 2nd Enlightenment has begun.
I hope this second "enlightenment" goes better than the last one.
I was just thinking that!!!
Although I am an Atheist, I prefer to remain officially baptized so I can vote in Republican primaries.
if you are a atheist,why did you get baptized.did the church do something to ture you away from God? If so may I ask what?
There is no requirement that a person have a religion to vote in any public office race in the US. We don't even have the requirement that the person voting is the person they say they are when they show at the poling place, this would interfere with dead people being able vote.
It's gross to see that the church not only refuses to allow people to dissasociate themselves from an organisation they disagree with but also refuses to acknowledge that lack of belief could even be a reason for not wanting your name used in relation to something your don't even believe exists.
Why should a church be forced to delete someone's name from a registry of people who were baptized? It's a historical event that happened whether the person likes it or not. It would be like asking the store to delete the sales record of a shirt you bought and don't wear any more.
It is not just an historical event. These peoples names are being used to obtain public funding, give innacurate numbers to church membership and claim public support where they have none. I find it laughable that religion claims a monoply on morals and yet is fraudulanlty using peoples names to bolster its financial wealth and credibility.
It kinda depends on what the church does with that registry. If it's merely a record of an event, then you are completely right. At that point it's private property. But if that church uses it as a list of membership to obtain public money, which some European countries allow, then to keep a name on that record when the individual expressly wishes NOT to be a member. At that point it's simply fraud.
The problem is - from the Church's point of view, anyone not baptized is not going to Heaven. It's a kindness to you, even tho you may not think Heaven & Hell exist. The Church believes otherwise, and doesn't want you to end up in Hell.
Susan Lee
Yea, and I believe that if you don't give me money that dancing elves are going to come in the night and torture you every night for the rest of your life. You may not believe it but I believe otherwise. Really I'm doing you a kindness, just give me your purse.
See how that sounds?
Incorrect. Evangelical Christians would not agree with you.
The church shouldn't get to decide that though.
