Atheists shouldn’t be godparents because of the religious nature of the sacrements, Newstalk’s Simon Tierney has said. 

The 38-year-old journalist is a devout non-believer and on a couple of occasions has been asked to become a godparent to the child of a friend or relative. 

While flattered to be asked, he feels he has too much respect for Christianity to take on the role. 

“I don’t understand the ambivalence that a lot of us have towards sacraments,” he told The Hard Shoulder. 

“We used to take them seriously and the irony of this situation is, even though I’m an atheist, I take the sacraments seriously. 

“I respect them and I respect true Catholics but I struggle to understand the behaviour of what some people describe as ‘bouncy castle Catholics’.” 

FHYGF2 Baptism, Christening of baby girl in a rural church Co. Meath Ireland

The Catholic Church requires at least one of a child’s godparents to be a practising Catholic and at the baptism they are asked to profess their faith and renounce Satan. 

For Simon, it is all a bit too much. 

“If I don’t believe in God, I can’t believe in his arch nemesis either,” he explained. 

Still, even if he has turned down the position, he understands why so many ‘bouncy castle Catholics’ are attached to the role. 

“My godmother has sent me a £20 note from London every June for the past 38 years,” he said. 

“She’s the one person who always remembers my birthday outside of my parents and there’s something really special about that. 

“I appreciate that and I feel conflicted now; am I creating a situation where my daughters won’t be able to have that?” 

Non religious alternative

Some people who are not religious have asked friends or family to serve as guideparents to their children. 

Simon can see a “value” in the innovation but is still sceptical. 

“On the other side of that, I’m also thinking, ‘Am I just replacing one ritual that doesn’t happen to suit me or my family with another ritual simply for the sake of it?’” 

In 2015, 93% of Irish children were baptised - despite historically low rates of attendance at mass.

Main image: Young child being christened. Picture by: Alamy.com