Infant Baptism as a Family Rite of Passage

Abstract

Anthropological definitions of “rites of passage” and family system theory are employed to make the case that infant baptism is itself a rite of passage, not merely for the infant being baptized and its parents, but for its whole extended family. The pregnancy, birth, and “fourth trimester” following birth are analyzed as the significant context for the rite of baptism, a context whose broad psychophysical, psychosocial, and psychospiritual dimensions affect and are affected by the rite of baptism. It is argued that pastoral preparation for a particular baptism and the aftercare that follows it need to be far more extensive than is common pastoral practice.