Mom Insisting on Kids' Baptism Against Atheist Dad's Wishes Sparks Debate

A married mother-of-two has sparked heated discussion online after revealing her intention to baptise both her children despite her atheist husband's vehement opposition.

Religion can be a divisive subject, not least when it comes to relationships. Evidence suggests that it's increasingly important for couples to be on the same page when it comes to matters of faith.

A 2021 YouGov poll showed 62 percent of Americans feel it's important that their romantic partner share similar religious beliefs. By contrast, just 30 percent said it was not especially important to them.

One of the potential pitfalls of failing to align religious beliefs in a relationship was recently highlighted in a Mumsnet post by user probabyam.

According to the post, the woman and her husband "didn't really talk about religion much" prior to getting married and having children together. But while both were christened as children, she quickly discovered they had very different views on the subject, describing her partner as "actively anti any religion."

As a result, they opted against a church wedding as he was "very against it," and their two children, now aged 2 and 4, were not christened as babies.

Fast-forward to today, however, and she is beginning to have regrets about not having baptized her kids.

"Most of my friends' children have been christened," she explained. "Part of me just likes the idea of godparents but another bit of me has a worry like a what if kind of thing, we're both christened why aren't they!"

Although her husband is "still massively against" the idea, she is contemplating it regardless of his objections. The mom argues that "it seems to be a thing where the person who doesn't want it gets their way."

Aware it's likely to cause a "huge fight," the woman feels it's her right to insist they are baptized. However, the online replies were split on the issue.

FishcakesWithTooMuchCoriander was confused, chiefly by the mom's own apparent lack of devoutness. "You're not religious or looking to practice religion, yourself," they wrote. "So you'd just be upsetting him for...what?"

SpiderVersed, meanwhile, commented: "Unless you are a practicing Christian, it's pointless—and quite frankly, disrespectful of the faith—to make a bunch of promises you don't intend to keep."

BarbedButterfly said: "I would feel very strongly about this as I hate the idea of children being indoctrinated into religion and wish I hadn't been christened myself."

Thesearmsofmine wrote: "Surely the right thing to do is to let them decide when they are older?"

De88 was one of several commenters to speak up in support of the woman though. "My partner wanted our children christened, I didn't, though I didn't feel massively against it either," they said. "So, they're all christened and he takes them to church every week."

Warmeduppizza, meanwhile, suggested she and her husband organize "an informal and open-ended chat with your local priest."

"Just so that [everything] that needs to be said can be said in a safe environment. Who knows you might end up on the same page, or make peace with the situation," they added.

Newsweek contacted probabyam for comment.