A Scientologist shared the naming ceremony of her daughter Layana on the Scientology Parent website. The naming ceremony, as it is performed, is unique to the Scientology religion.
“The purpose of the ceremony is not only to welcome the baby into her family and into her community,” she wrote, “but also to publicly delineate the roles of the parents and god-parents for all to witness.”
“I decided to do it at my local Church in Clearwater because, as a venue, it is positively stunning, simply stated. With the 30 feet high marble walls in the Grand Chapel, incredible glowing cross in the background, the atmosphere was, well, perfect.
“Having grown up a 3rd generation Scientologist, I thought the Scientology Naming Ceremony by Mr. L. Ron Hubbard, was the perfect way to welcome our new little one.
T”here are 2 versions to the Naming Ceremony (both detailed in the book, TheBackground, Ministry, Ceremonies and Sermons of the Scientology Religion.) – the longer Formal ceremony, and the shorter, “Informal” ceremony. The latter is the one we chose.
“Simply put, it was a ceremony introducing her to her parents (myself and my husband), her God Mother & God Father (should anything ever happen to us), and also, what I think is so important – the ceremony introduced her to herself.
“Why would a child need an introduction to herself? In my opinion, if you think about it, other than addressing a child, how does one know what their name is? Does anyone ever say “your name is _________?” “Your parents names are _________ and __________”. Well, maybe some people do. But I think it’s crucial, after all – aren’t babies just like us, but smaller in their physical form? After all, they are people as well. I think it’s so important to address them like people, and talk like them, as I have found they definitely understand!
“The ceremony was special – and I had about 50 people there (family who traveled from out of state and local friends). There were Scientologists, Lutherans, and Christians of other denominations and of various other religious backgrounds who all joined me for this momentous occasion.
“The ceremony was about 10 minutes long, ending with the Minister doing the formal christening – a drop of water on her head, naming her.
“Needless to say, there were tears of joy all around. I had many of my friends and family telling me after the ceremony that they had happy tears. At first I was wondering why all the happy tears, but after thinking about it – isn’t welcoming a new little one into the world the most beautiful, joyful thing ever? Absolutely.”
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