The Catalyst

By Bri Castellini, Web and Commentary Editor

As a newborn, I was baptized Catholic, with my family surrounding me smiling. One can argue that this was before I reached an age of consent, but that’s another issue. The National Secular Society, a leading European non-theist group, is now in the business of selling a highly controversial “Certificate of Debaptism”.

Yes, you read that right, selling. For international customers like Americans, the cost is £5.00, or around $7.30. I tried to check the shipping costs, but couldn’t because I wasn’t actually ordering one of these certificates, printed on “quality parchment paper.” Either way, that’s kind of expensive, in contrast to, I don’t know, printing it out at home or dealing with being baptized. If you don’t want to be baptized that badly, chances are that you don’t believe the baptism did any good in the first place. So what the point of getting “debaptized”? Seems like a waste of money to me.

When I searched further into the website, I found that the money earned goes into the NSS’s funds for “campaigning activities.” I’m sorry, but what exactly are they campaigning for? To tick off people riding public transit who have to stare at messages like “There Is Probably No God. Now Go And Enjoy Your Life,”? Or maybe it’s to tick off the religious people into starting a public transit campaign right back. Either way, what are they gaining?

According to their “About” page, they have a specific cause. “The National Secular Society is the leading pressure group defending the rights of non-believers from the demands of religious power-seekers. The NSS works both in the UK and in Europe to combat the influence of religion on governments. We want to ensure that Human Rights always come before religious rights, and we fight the massive exemptions religious bodies demand - and are sometimes granted - from discrimination laws that everyone else is subject to. Every privilege has its victims.” And according to their “What We Do” page, a big part of their activities is sending consultations to the government, asking for a wider separation of Church and State. Sorry, but what funds do they need in order to do that? A couple bucks for postage?

This is the problem with most major religious or non-religious organizations. It’s one thing to want to spread awareness and secure rights to a fair an equal society. But it’s another thing altogether when it just gets obnoxious. Why do religious people need money to believe? Why do secular people need money not to not believe? This whole campaigning business is getting ridiculous. I need a tee shirt proclaiming I’m skeptic about as much as I need one to proclaim that I’m Islamic, Catholic, or Baptist. Faith is a personal issue, a personal choice, and it should stay personal. Don’t shove your faith or lack thereof in my face, and I’ll return the favor.