Infant baptism

Infant Baptism, also known as paedobaptism or pedobaptism, is the baptism of infants or young children. Those churches that practice pedobaptism teach that it is the Christian replacement for circumcision, that it washes away original sin, and that Christians are born again through baptism. Those churches practicing infant baptism include Orthodox Christianity, Roman Catholicism, Anglicanism, Lutheranism, Methodism, Presbyterians and the Reformed Churches. The parents and/ or godparents accept the blessings of baptism for the infants, who are too young to comprehend these blessings. Some of these churches affirm baptism at the age of understanding, usually held to be the early teens; for example, Catholics teach Catechism classes, and Lutherans teach confirmation classes at this time.

Infant baptism can be contrasted with creedal baptism, which is the baptism of teenagers and adults upon the confession of their faith.