Former Christian shares “unbaptism” ritual on TikTok

In the United States, there has been a sharp decline in religiosity over several generations, with fewer and fewer people attending religious services regularly. In fact, studies suggest that 2021 was the first year ever that church membership in America fell “below the majority.” The most dominant religion in the world is Christianity with a whopping 2.382 billion followers worldwide.

Although it is reported that there are over 45,000 different Christian denominations worldwide, the religion appears to be dominated by two general sects: Roman Catholic (50.1%) and Protestant (36.7%). While each sect has its own belief system, and then there are sub-divisions and sub-sects outside of those belief systems, many of the rites, traditions, and practices in those sects are similar. A common but not universal practice among many Christian denominations is baptism.

Corresponding Christianity. com: “If one could sum up the meaning of baptism in one word, that word would be identification. Baptism speaks primarily of personal, public identification with Jesus Christ.” This ceremony can be interpreted as a public declaration of faith, and there are some who argue that, depending on which sect of Christianity one belongs to, without baptism one is not considered “ “official” member of a community.

That could be why there are people who “undo” their baptisms in ceremonies, some of which are uploaded online, like this one in a viral TikTok originally posted by @redbirdmoon.co and later posted by the Australian pop singer Peach PRC (@peachprc) was featured in a duet on the popular video sharing platform.

@peachprc #duet with @redbirdmoon.co ♬ God is a Freak – Acoustic – Peach PRC

In the video from @redbirmoon.co she can be seen preparing a bathtub and sipping from what looks like a cup filled with wine. Text overlays appear throughout the fast-forward video, with one reading “Anti-Communion of Apple and Wine.”

“I said the Lord’s Prayer backwards and chanted ‘I am free’ 23 times,” wrote the TikToker. “I have declared broken and banished all ties to the Christian God and to the Church.”

@redbirdmoon.co then dives into the bathwater and emerges smiling as a text overlay reads, “I did it!”

There were some users who thought the idea of ​​”unbaptizing” yourself was a brilliant move.

“I never thought of un-baptizing myself, that’s awesome,” said one viewer.

“One person helps people break free from their chains of belief! This is just inspirational,” wrote another.

“I was abused, traumatized and used and then baptized into the Amish Church,” shared a third. “I ran so far and so fast from all of this. I will not be baptized.”

“This is such an absolutely amazing idea, I hope you don’t mind I’ll make one of these for myself tomorrow!” Another user claimed.

Others pointed to how much they identified with the song TikTok was tuned into, Peach PRC’s “God is a Freak.”

“I went to Catholic school for ten years. It broke me. My experience also taught my mother a lot. This song is helping me with my religious trauma,” one viewer wrote.

Some of the lyrics from the song read:

“God’s a bit of a freak / Like, what’s the fixation / On hating the way He creates? / So why should I spend my eternity / with God when he’s a freak? / Why does he watch me be called names on the couch / Stay in for a wedding? / He has crazy priorities.”

Others called the video “empowering” and said they identified with the relief the woman in the unbaptized video appeared to feel after performing her self-ritual.

However, there were some who expressed their confusion about the @redbirdmoon.co ritual. “If she’s not religious anymore, why should a ritual matter to her? I’m just confused by the work she’s doing? Lol,” commented one viewer.

Another user said they were so brainwashed by religious trauma that their knee-jerk reaction upon seeing the clip was to immediately seek forgiveness from the woman, even though they are no longer religious themselves.

“The religious trauma is so deep that for a split second I asked God not to punish her for it,” they wrote.

And then there were TikTokers who said they were religious themselves and felt sorry for others who had had such negative experiences in their own communities.

“As a Christian woman I would like to apologize on behalf of anyone who has ever felt anything other than love, understanding and grace, I am so sorry,” said one user. “It breaks my heart to know that because you have encountered broken people struggling in their own faith journey, they ultimately tarnished your journey. I am so sorry and love you all and wish you all the best.”

User @redbirdmoon.co (who goes by the name Vix) set her original viral video to “friends only” on TikTok after it made the rounds online, according to a follow-up video.

The Daily Dot has reached out to both Peach PRC and Vix on TikTok for comment.