Finding faith in later life.

Me too Blossoming, my faith, or rather lack of, is nothing to do with anyone else.

I’m an atheist but would never belittle another’s faith. I have happily attended weddings and baptisms and supported friends and family. I just bow my head and stay silent if there’s something I can’t honestly join in.

Judy54 lovely to hear your niece is getting baptized as an adult. Although I was Christened as a child I felt I had to get baptized as an adult in my thirties when I 'came to faith' as an adult. Lovely her family are supporting her and hopefully will be there on the day.
As for telling other people I think it comes down to would they attend the service. If they are not Christian then I would expect not, so no point telling them. Not all are called to be 'evangelists' so don't let your niece stress about thinking she needs to tell everyone about this. Baptism can be a very intimate, private time and not really for non-believers - having said that one of DD's friends decided to become a Christian after attending my DD's adult baptism service when she was aged 18.

my sister in law decided to become a minster at the age of 40, anytime she tried to turn my late husband to what she thought he always said the same thing.....you know i am an atheist....thank god, she always hated him saying this. when he died she arranged the funeral without me having any say and it was a very religious affair that he would have hated. everyone has the right to follow whatever religion they want and if her so called friends are making remarks then they are not true friends.

a private matter and no need to inform people at all.....unless you are going to have a gathering of some sort!

After 50+ years of being a conventional Christian, I found I just couldn't go on saying and believing the Creed any more.
I left the C of E church I loved, tried the Unitarians, tried the Quakers, and 20 years later I'm now a tea lady at the Spiritualist church.
Many people find Spiritualism either laughable, or dangerous , or both (look at another thread on this forum!)
I don't -it makes a lot of sense to me.
But I'm VERY, VERY careful who I tell!
I hope I know my friends and relations well enough to guess their likely reaction.
I'm also a strict vegetarian. If you believe something is right for you, it doesn't do to get too upset if other people don't think the same way or congratulate you! Life isn't like that, is it?

Judy54 I don’t understand why she needs to inform people of her decision, or indeed of her faith at all. It’s a personal choice, it shouldn’t impact on her relationships in any way, and I don’t think there is any reason for her to bring it up with others.

I guess this could be called a test of her faith? Certainly is a test of her 'friends'. Does she need them? I'm delighted for her that she has found a faith at this stage in life. Great stuff!

A lot of people think that those who actively follow a religion are a bit weird. The religiously inclined are as diverse a group of characters as any other group. I spend quite a bit of time trying to show people how "normal" I am !!

Your niece is brave to be baptised as an adult. Given time, I hope, her friends will find that she's still the same person and will get over their prejudices.

I’m sorry your niece is having such a difficult time because of her decision. I was also baptised as an adult, as was my husband. The worst intolerance I came across was with my peers at university who were very accepting of just about anything except Christianity and lauded themselves for their tolerance.

Fortunately I was able to slough off the ridicule and relentless snide comments, but the only other Christian in my year couldn’t take it and eventually she withdrew from the course. There were a few people wanting to have genuine discussions, but some were nothing less than venomous in their animosity and they felt completely justified in their bullying behaviour. Ironically those same people were often challenged about their behaviour towards us by the Muslims on our course - none of whom came in for the same intolerance.

I hope your niece is able to rise above the personal comments and perhaps find friends who are more accepting.

I agree , but those people who are embarrassed because of someone else’s faith should get a life of their own! Getting baptised at any age is a personal decision and should not be a big deal to anyone else . For goodness sake , tell your niece to rejoice in her faith .

People are often embarrassed by people with an active faith. It is unusual for people to be baptised as adults (unless you belong to a Baptist church) so will seem strange to many & they may worry she will change and not be the same person they liked before her finding a faith. She will have good friends who will accept her personal choices and it will not affect the friendship. Those are good friends.

Some people are very insensitive! They are not true friends if they make derogatory remarks about her personal decision, as for shunning her - unbelievable ! I am not a religious person , although I was a regular attender at the Methodist church where I grew up. No regrets at all , only happy memories of Sunday school . My social life was based on the church , youth club , brownies and girl guides. Your niece should not be afraid of people’s reactions , goodness me she is only following her beliefs ! and arranging to be baptised. Hardly running off to join a dubious religious cult!!!
You niece should be happy , tell her friends if she wishes , those that shun her should not be so shallow! I wish her well .