Sunday, March 1, 2009

Pagan Godparent Research

I've been thinking a fair amount about how godparenting does - and does not - work in the Pagan community. I've got more than a few ideas, but I decided that before I put them all together that I would like to find out about the experiences of other Pagans as well. To that end, I have a questionnaire!

You may respond in a comment or, if you prefer your answers not to be so public, comment with a means to contact you. If I would like to use direct quotes in any articles I write I will ask in advance.

If you answer "no" to the first two questions, there's probably no real need to continue, but thanks anyway!

1 - do you follow a Pagan, Neopagan, or other earth-centered faith?
If yes, feel free to include your specific path:

2 - are you a godparent?
If you think you are but you just don't call it that, what do you call
the relationship?

3 - how many godchildren do you have?

4 - any of your godchildren belong to a non-Pagan faith?
If yes, did the parents know about the faith difference before you
agreed to the relationship?

5 - How frequently are you in contact with your godchild? Daily,
weekly, monthly, less frequently?
Is the contact one-way (like sending cards or gifts) or two-way (like
email exchanges or spending time together)?

6 - what sorts of activities do you do together, if any?

7 - what percentage of contact with your godchild is focused on
religious instruction, conversation, or activities?

8 - is the religious aspect of your relationship highly important,
somewhat important, or not at all important to you? to your godchild?

1 comment:

Robin said...

I am a pagan (I'm pretty eclectic about it), but I'm not a godparent. I've been asked a couple of times to be a godparent by parents who are Christian, but I turned them down. I figured that, since the Christian baptism asks the godparents to help ensure that the child is raised in the Christian faith, I wouldn't be able to guarantee that part of it, so I declined.