Meghan Markle: Citizenship and Religious Conversion

[royal rob]

Originally Posted by Denville

I find it hard to believe she's "very very religious", if she hasn't been a regular church goer or at least gone through the rite of baptism...

I agree Danville but apparently some think I’m very wrong and can’t prove it. I think it’s speaks for itself there’s nothing wrong with converting to make things easier. IMO that’s what she’s doing

[Denville]

I dont know why they have announced this at all. If they felt it was better for her to be officialy C of E, she could have been baptised quietly, and not said anything.
There's nothing wrong with not being very religious, but I am a bit uncomfortable with someone converting or being baptised "just to fit in" with the RF...
However, its possible that she has some religious background/beleifs and now that she's getting married and having kids, she wants a formal religious structure to her life..but if it is just for social convenience.. I'm a bit uncomfortable..
However it is up to her..

[Curryong]

The Archbishop's words about Harry and Meghan's faith, after having conversations with them, seemingly don't mean a thing then.

[Osipi]

Originally Posted by Denville

I dont know why they have announced this at all. If they felt it was better for her to be officialy C of E, she could have been baptised quietly, and not said anything.
There's nothing wrong with not being very religious, but I am a bit uncomfortable with someone converting or being baptised "just to fit in" with the RF...
However, its possible that she has some religious background/beleifs and now that she's getting married and having kids, she wants a formal religious structure to her life..but if it is just for social convenience.. I'm a bit uncomfortable..
However it is up to her..

When we really think about it, any denomination of a religion is a social structure. Its people coming together to worship in a certain manner as a congregation. They agree on certain tenets and ways of worshiping their God. Its the same thing basically when one joins a branch of the military. The Army does something one way, the RAF another way and the Navy, again, has their own specific ways of doing things. All Christian denominations though are worshiping and praising the same God just as all branches of the military are serving and protecting one country.

Religion and spirituality are two totally different things. A person can be religious and go to church every day, adhere strictly to the dogma and tenets of a certain denomination and tithe to the church very generously without being spiritual. A truly spiritual person shows day in and day out that they practice what they believe to be true and may have never once set foot into a church or join an organized religion. Spirituality is a personal journey and a one on one relationship with their Creator.

Meghan may have spent her entire life so far without being religious in any sense of the word. She hasn't been a card carrying member of any organized religion but to me, with some of the things she has done because she has wanted to and her general demeanor towards life and the people around her indicate to me that she has a very Christian like spirituality that has shone forth. At this stage of her life, perhaps she has realized that with starting a family, being part of the British royal family and with having a deep love for the man that will be her lifelong partner, she is taking what she knows to be true about her own spiritual path and formalizing it by actively seeking to join the Church of England. Its a personal decision.

Its not something that she is required to do by any means. Its her choice. Its between her and her God.

[Cocoasneeze]

Originally Posted by Curryong

The Archbishop's words about Harry and Meghan's faith, after having conversations with them, seemingly don't mean a thing then.

And he has actually met her and talked with her about her religious beliefs and faith. He might just no way more Tha we do.

[Denville]

he is harldy likely to say anything negative.. but as I've said, I don't know why they made this public at all. There's no obligation for Meghan to be C of E, so why did they make it known? I doubt if most people would have taken any great heed of how often she went to church after her marriage...

[Somebody]

It would have been noticed had she not taken communion. And if they would like any children they might have to be baptized, the question on her religious background would have come up again as well. So, being open about this makes sense to me; there is no reason to hide it. Much better than the risk to have it leaked as that would give the impression that it was something to be ashamed of.

[Denville]

I doubt it. I have no idea how often any of the RF go to church other than the queen... or take communion. And older Anglicans are not always frequent communion participants..

[Gaudete]

Originally Posted by Denville

I doubt it. I have no idea how often any of the RF go to church other than the queen... or take communion. And older Anglicans are not always frequent communion participants..

This would depend on the individual parish. Some parishes (paradoxically called Anglo-Catholic) offer communion at every service, others only offer it once a month and some only for important days in the church calendar. By the same token, each parish will have it's own criteria on who can and who can't receive it. The most common approach however is that if a person feels they should receive it, they are welcome to do so regardless of whether they have been baptised or confirmed. I doubt this is the case in the services attended by the Queen but it's worth pointing out that the rules surrounding communion are not as rigid as those in other Christian denominations.

[wbenson]

I think the Queen and most of her family are traditionally very "low church," preferring mattins (no communion) to the eucharist for weekly services.

[Somebody]

The CoE rules require baptism (confirmation in the Anglican church is no longer required, so those baptized in other churches are welcome to partake - and in some churches this has been extended to non confirmed children), however, it could very well be that not all clergy apply the rules.

My point was that - at some point - it would be noticed (and possibly leaked) if Meghan would stay seated while all other family members take communion. In our (Anglican) church they would make sure that the elder parishioners would be able to partake even if they were not physically able to come the front. And Meghan isn't elderly,

[wbenson]

Originally Posted by Somebody

My point was that - at some point - it would be noticed (and possibly leaked) if Meghan would stay seated while all other family members take communion.

I'm not sure they ever even have communion at family events. I think the Queen only takes it privately, at home.

I think the last time the Queen took communion at any kind of big event was the coronation, and I think that was served only to her and the Duke of Edinburgh (and the cameras were not allowed to watch).

[Denville]

If she didn't take communion, It might simply be that she was "low church" and did not do it often. I don't see that anyone would be leaking stuff like this...

Yes indeed, it is a rule that you should be baptised and confirmed before you take the communion but some parishes would problaby be more easy going than others... and would not ask questions. However strictly speaking..

[Somebody]

Originally Posted by wbenson

I'm not sure they ever have communion at big family events.

I think the last time the Queen took communion in any kind of big event was the coronation, and I think that was served only to her and the Duke of Edinburgh.

That was why I was talking about 'leaking'. If it was a big event, I would assume it would be public, so for all to see.

However, you might be right that it could go unnoticed for a long time. Still, I am glad they decided to be open about this issue, especially as the question about her religious background had been raised many times; and this is just factual information that is relevant for someone marrying the grandson og the head of the church.

[Gaudete]

I don’t think the Church of England today strictly speaks on anything much. Most decisions are devolved to individual parishes with very strange results sometimes. The form of worship Meghan will become used to would be strange to most Anglicans I should think.

[Denville]

Originally Posted by wbenson

I'm not sure they ever even have communion at family events.

I think the last time the Queen took communion in any kind of big event was the coronation, and I think that was served only to her and the Duke of Edinburgh.

I'm sure the queen takes communion at least once a year - maybe montly...
I believe that shes problaby low church and her practice of her religion is more focussed on sermons and Bible Readings than taking communion frequently.
which was why I said that some older Anglicans DONT take it often, and might attend Matins rather than HOly Communion on their regular church visits.
Some anglo catholic parishes have Holy Communion as their "regular service" but even then many people don't receive..

Originally Posted by Gaudete

I don’t think the Church of England today strictly speaks on anything much. Most decisions are devolved to individual parishes with very strange results sometimes. The form of worship Meghan will become used to would be strange to most Anglicans I should think.

How will it be strange, if she's becoming an Anglican. Maybe old fashioned, but its hardly going to be "strange".....

[Gaudete]

Not strange to Meghan. But certainly there’s very little uniformity in the Church of England. The way they worship at Sandringham would seem totally archaic to someone who worships somewhere else. Even the Anglo Catholics are rare these days, most of them have since moved over to the personal ordinariate.

[Somebody]

Originally Posted by Gaudete

I don’t think the Church of England today strictly speaks on anything much. Most decisions are devolved to individual parishes with very strange results sometimes. The form of worship Meghan will become used to would be strange to most Anglicans I should think.

On requiring baptism to partake in communion they do. Any additional requirements (several vicars will ask that only those believe in Jesus as their Lord and Savior partake, many will use less specific formulations such as ' all baptized christians' and others will welcome anyone who would like to participate no matter how young or what they believe) depend on the person celebrating the communion.

However, if you know of a decision that changed the one from 1972 I'd be interested to know.

How would you describe the form of worship that Meghan will become used to?

[Rudolph]

In my parish we have communion every service. On Sunday there is a 7 o’clock service and a service at 10:30.

I wouldn’t have cared if Meghan was already baptised in another denomination as long as she’s baptised. I’m glad for whatever reason she’s decided to get baptised now.

[Gaudete]

Originally Posted by Somebody

On requiring baptism to partake in communion they do. Any additional requirements (several vicars will ask that only that believe in Jesus as their Lord and Savior partake, others will welcome anyone who would like to participate, no matter how young or what they believe) depend on the person celebrating the communion.

However, if you know of a decision that changed the one from 1972 I'd be interested to know.

How would you describe the form of worship that Meghan will become used to?

What you've said (on the issue of communion), is exactly what I said.

I'm not suggesting there's been a shift in the rules, simply that it's not much of a rule when individual vicars can pretty much do what they like in their own parishes. Which in itself is strange. Services in some Anglican churches bear no similarity to the services held in others. Some embrace a more traditional liturgy, others have embraced a more non-denominational approach. This is why the Church of England has struggled in recent decades.

To the best of my knowledge, the Queen prefers a more traditional style of worship (not necessarily with communion at every service) and I assume if Meghan attends weekly services, she'll become used to a certain form and rite which if she attended another services in another Anglican church, would seem foreign and old fashioned. There's a greater disparity of liturgy used in the Church of England and 'rules' don't really carry all that much weight. The Church of England operates on a "All may, none must, some should" policy.