What Religion For My Daughter?,

[shiredevon]

My daughter is coming up 8 months now, apparently as we had a civil wedding she cannot be baptised Roman catholic,

It doesn't worry me as i'm an out and out atheist and Roman catholic for me is the least desirable anyway, trouble is if your not baptised here it can create all sorts of problems in the future such as getting a passport etc,

Any ideas on what others are available and that aren't too ridiculous, i'll brace myself for a barrage of piss taking, hehe. but this is a genuine enquiry.

[Tukaram (Tim)]

I had no idea that a baptism was so important. I mean, I know they are overly Catholic, but for passports etc? Wow! What a backwards country I have decided to retire in :)

And sorry no real help here. I would say no baptism until the child is old enough to pick her own (if any). But if they are that important maybe you will have to get something.... I bet the Pope would like another name on his roster...

[Jack Peterson]

:unsure: I not a religious person at all. I do believe however, the parents sins if any, are not the child's. The catholic church will tell you a civil marriage is a sin ?? again, Not your daughters fault. according to many, me alike, she has a right to be baptised and according to our local priest, 30 mins ago, you can take it to your local priest for him to listen to you. After that, you may take it to his Bishop who, i am informed, will Act because you have raised the issue. the priest here also said that as long as one of you is catholic, you can have the marriage blessed in the RC church and all will be well.

:) I did a little research for you and have attached some web pages on this very subject hope it helps in some way. :thumbsup:

http://answers.yahoo...13052149AAj64Ro

http://forums.cathol...ad.php?t=538018

:tiphat: JP.

[wombatphil]

My daughter is coming up 8 months now, apparently as we had a civil wedding she cannot be baptised Roman catholic,

It doesn't worry me as i'm an out and out atheist and Roman catholic for me is the least desirable anyway, trouble is if your not baptised here it can create all sorts of problems in the future such as getting a passport etc,

Any ideas on what others are available and that aren't too ridiculous, i'll brace myself for a barrage of piss taking, hehe. but this is a genuine enquiry.

I don't believe you are correct on the difficulty getting passports and etc in the future, if there is no Baptism certificate... I know several such cases of Baptism cert not being required including my own 3 kids and my wife, when apply for their passport a couple of years ago. There are every type of religion in the world here in this country and agnostic/athiests too. So to ask for a Baptism Certificate, while a common document to have here, is dumb coz not all have them.

But, isn't that a load of rubbish for some member/s of the Church to deny the Baptism of another soul. This is something I have not heard of before either. Are you sure that you are not listening to rumours instead of getting it from the horse's mouth?

I'm not religious either but I was brought up a Catholic until I turned away from the crap being thrust on one, at a tender age of 12. Of course, there were underlying other reasons for this such as regularly being beaten by Mother Superior from 5 years old to 7, to beat the devil out of me coz I was left handed (the sign of the devil?????) So I know all the bits and pieces of the religion coz been there done that...

Anyway, I for one, with my 8 kids, did not push religion on any kid whatsoever, and my wives (3) were/are not doing so either. My belief is that kids are too impressionable to brainwash them with this stuff and they themselves should make their own decisions on the matter when they are matured and whatever they decide, I respect that and push no belief or otherwise at them... I also believe that to push this stuff on innocent/impressionable children is wrong. But, that's me and I don't interfere with anyone's beliefs outside my own family, as described

Edited August 28, 2012 by wombatphil

[Americano]

I have had a different experience from Phil and I believe it was because we were dealing with different offices and people. My wife was required to have a Baptismal Certificate as one of the required documents when applying for our Marriage License. She didn't have a Baptismal Certificate so she had to go back to Mindanao where she grew up and ask the Pastor of the Southern Baptist Church to make one for her. Luckily the Pastor remembered her or he wouldn't have made it. She was also required to present a copy of her Baptismal Certificate when getting her Passport, Postal ID, NBI Clearance and Voters Registration. There may have been other things that I don't remember right now.

In my experience a Baptismal Certificate is required in the Philippines when dealing with Government Offices. Since the Catholic Church is such a pain in the @ss I suggest getting a Baptismal Certificate for your baby at a Baptist Church, Church of Christ or some other Christian Church, but you will probably be told that she is not old enough to make that decision and you can't make it for her. In that case you can wait until she is older to get the Certificate.

[Papa Carl]

I agree, that the Baptismal Certificate is or can be an important document here in the Philippines. My wife needed it for us to get married for one thing, and has had to produce it several times for other requirements.

The good news is we were married in Pasig City Hall in a civil marriage, and when our daughter was born we were able to get her baptized in our local Catholic Church, which by the way is the largest and most ornate church I have seen in some time! So it can be done, I am not Catholic, but my wife being a Filipina is, and that was enough as far as the Catholic Church was concerned in Angeles City Pampanga.

So don't give up, and don't take it as a "religious" thing if you are not a believer, but as a "right of passage" in order for your children to make things easier for them when they grow up.

Papa Carl

[JJReyes]

Could someone double check. My understanding is a Baptismal Cerfiticate is considered a valid official document in situations where other types of documents are not available. It is not a requirement in situations such as obtaining a marriage license if other official documents are available. At one time, a Certificate of Live Birth required a father's name. Otherwise, the child is considered illegitimate for purposes of inheritance. Legitimate children, under Philippine law, receive an equal share of the estate. Illegitimate children are still protected, but they receive the equivalent of one half share.

[Papa Carl]

I also thought it was an unusual request, but my wife had her Birth Certificate, her passport, her school records, because of her age she also needed to get her parents to sign a document stating that they agreed to our marriage!

And this was all from Pasig City Hall, which by no means is a small local City Hall.

The requirements were posted on the window, when you get to the correct department in the huge place.

Papa Carl

[JJReyes]

The requirements were posted on the window, when you get to the correct department in the huge place.

The assumption, of course, is that city government bureaucrats know and understand the law. There is always the possibility the bureaucrats try to make the requirements unusually difficult. This creates the need to hire a "fixer" who is more familiar with how the system really works. Of course, using such a service requires the payment of a small fee.

[shiredevon]

Hey thanks guys, looks like i gotta do a bit more research, it's a real grey area, it was my wife who said our daughter couldn't be baptised a catholic so i just took it as "gospel" pardon the pun, hehe, but i know my wife has needed various documents before which seemed ridiculous to me but that's the system here and i guess you have to go with the flow.