secular rights of passage
- Rating:
0 after 1 vote
Did you do a secular naming ceremony, nonfirmation, or any other rights of passage with your kids? Here in Denmark, hardly anyone is religious, but everyone goes through all the steps anyway. We're thinking of doing a UU name-giving instead of a Lutheran christening (which I see as being a great big lie for us). I see it as an excuse to get all the family together and ooh-aah over our awesome baby, and it's kind of expected anyway.
If anyone else did, is planning to do, or wishes they'd done anything like this, I'd love to hear about it. :)
If anyone else did, is planning to do, or wishes they'd done anything like this, I'd love to hear about it. :)
Replies to This Discussion
-
Permalink Reply by Kat on -
First, I am so super sorry about how late I am replying to this discussion!
I have been so busy with life that my groups and message boards fell to the side and stayed there for many months.
My sincerest apologies to you, and everyone else, for letting this group be a part of the things that I had to put to the side for many months while my offline life was happening big.
Nope, no christening or naming ceremonies for my sons, but that was also 16 and 18 years ago, and I hadn't yet fully come out as an atheist to family and friends yet, so just not attending church, people didn't even ask me if I was going to have my sons "baptized" or not.
But just recently, I became an ordained member of the clergy of The Church of Spiritual Humanism.
I know, sounds totally silly right? But this "church" is based on facts and reason, and because god is not yet proven as existing using the scientific method, then I am just a secular humanist clergy person who can now preside over secular ceremonies for people like us.
It was free to become ordained, best part! LoL and I can now do things just like what you've asked, and it's all perfectly legal in my state.
I can now preside over Marriage, Baby Naming, Funeral, Hand Fasting, Commitment, Affirmation of Love, Invocations, Renewal of Marriage, and holiday ceremonies, and whatever other type of ceremony that people would like.
I can now preside over secular ceremonies for people like us, for people who want to get married, have an official ceremony with an officiant but without the god bit.
People want to have the traditional ceremonies, they want to have their family and friends surround them and be witness to their wedding vows or the naming of their baby, and in states where gay marriage is legal, couples want to have the nice ceremony, the family and friends, the reading of the vows, the officiant say they are now spouse and spouse, but can't find anyone to do it because some justices of the peace or notaries, refuse to marry homosexuals and lesbians.
As a secular clergy person, if gay marriage is legal in that state, ordained secular clergy persons can now legally marry those couples.
They get to have the traditional ceremony they want without the discrimination and let down of being told by a JoP or notary, that they won't perform the vows.
I haven't done a ceremony yet, I have some issues still going on, but I fully plan on telling people, friends and such, that I can officially marry them or preside over their baby naming ceremony.
I think this will be something amazing in my life, I really believe that this is part of my purpose now, because as soon as I heard that I could do this and it was perfectly legal in my state, I jumped on it and just filled with happiness.
-
Permalink Reply by Lorry Fach-Pedersen on
-
We had a birthday party instead. We invited all the family together and got birthday presents instead of christening presents, and she was a bit older than if we'd do it the other way but it required no officiant and no explanations. People were just happy to be there.
Some people said they had such a good time that they hoped they wouldn't have to wait for her confirmation to do it again. Clearly the lack of religion didn't make a huge impression. Fortunately, though, nonfirmations are an accepted, somewhat normal alternative here. :)
