Raised in a two-religion family

[Aragarthiel]

And you can be baptized, based on my understanding, without the whole "being dunked in the water" thing.

Babies have holy water sprinkled/rubbed on their foreheads, I'm assuming they could do the same with adults if you asked. I don't see the point in baptizing babies anyway, the belief is that if you're not baptized you don't go to heaven, but in the same conversation you can be told that children can't be held accountable for their own actions until the "Age of Accountability," or 12 years old. So if you die before age 12, you're pretty much guaranteed a place in heaven even if you're not baptized.

[Andara Bledin]

Baptism doesn't have to be literal. There are all sorts of figurative forms of baptism depending on your denomination and how strict they are.

[s_stabeler]

I don't see the point in baptizing babies anyway, the belief is that if you're not baptized you don't go to heaven,

which is interesting, ( the same for all the various churches who give a long list of rules to get into heaven) when you consider that, as far as I know, God actively tries to let people into heaven. ( If I remember correctly, Jesus himself said that it wasn't following the various rituals of the church that got you into heaven, but how you acted- which, quite frankly, makes me suspect that is there is a heaven, a couple of popes may well have received an unpleasant surprise when they discovered where they were spending their afterlife.

[HYHYBT]

Dad was baptized as an infant, Mom at whatever age she said she wanted it. Methodists normally sprinkle, but immersion is also acceptable. Baptists dunk, period. As for when to do it... it's more a matter of perspective, as I see it.

Churches that baptize infants have a confirmation ceremony once the child is old enough. Churches that wait until then to baptize often have a baby dedication ceremony. It's mostly the same stuff either way, just handled a bit differently.

[Panacea]

Babies have holy water sprinkled/rubbed on their foreheads, I'm assuming they could do the same with adults if you asked. I don't see the point in baptizing babies anyway, the belief is that if you're not baptized you don't go to heaven, but in the same conversation you can be told that children can't be held accountable for their own actions until the "Age of Accountability," or 12 years old. So if you die before age 12, you're pretty much guaranteed a place in heaven even if you're not baptized.

Different churches have very different approaches to baptism. Catholics only baptize once. Once baptized you're never supposed to do it again. Baptized converts simply go through Confirmation and First Eucharist (if you have a Triune baptism, the Church recognizes it).

Baptism itself can go from the sprinkle to the full dunk in the Catholic church. I had a full immersion Baptism as an adult, and we do the dunk with the babies too (just the baby's bottom gets dunked). Baptists usually go for the full immersion. Other Christians YMMV.

That's interesting. Was your dad baptized as an infant? My sister was.

The reason I ask is that a lot of denominations believe that you have to consciously make the decision to be baptized.

Most Protestant denominations believe that. Catholics can actually wait too, but most parents choose not to. The whole babies go to Limbo thing is not official church doctrine anymore, but a lot of cradle Catholics still believe it.

My parents didn't baptize me or my brother because they both came from sects that did adult baptism. They felt it should be my choice, and I'm actually grateful to them for that. It made things that much more special for me when I did decide to get baptized.

Protestants who place a big emphasis on baptism (fundamentalists mostly, especially Baptists) make a big deal of repeated baptism. They host big baptismal events to reconnect with their faith. Pilgrimages to the River Jordon are especially popular.