I have to ask...What's the point? Baptism, de-baptism..it's all nonsense.

Ok, i'm all for statements but this is stupid. It means nothing and simply gives athiests the image of being so obsessed with not being associated with anything 'religious' that we are effectively becoming a holy, in the sense of set apart, people ourselves! Who cares if you were baptised as a child, it's no different to a bad excuse for a bath if you don't believe it carries any significance! I refuse to call myself an athiest from this moment on... I don't want to be associated with this sort of rubbish. How can you change the world with one more argument...

This reminds me of the Simpsons episode where they gave Homer a certificate that he wasn't insane.

The "NOT INSANE" certificate. A catch 22 of a certificate, but something I would definitely put on my wall if I was awarded one.

I don't know - I think in Europe you might be more closely associated with your religion even for governmental purposes? I'm not sure -

Or - maybe it is a version of the not insane Simpson certificate...who wouldn't want one of those?

As an Anabaptist, I can sympathize in a way with the wish to reject or "revise" infant baptism. For the exact opposite reason, my own church went through the same thing about 400 years ago.

It seems like a reasonable way of coming out as an atheist, and the more atheists that publicly acknowledge their atheism the better.

Is this an Onion spoof?

Yes, this is kind of silly, but I think is point is to show people that he is standing up for HIS beliefs, and therefore is also making a statement to "closet atheists" that they are not alone - there are many everyday people who are atheists and that you don't have to hide from the rest of society.

At least that's what I got from it.

My impression of it is from people being baptised into a belief system by their parents, before the time they actually have a choice in the matter. This is their way of symbolically breaking that connection they have been forced into years ago and had to grow up with. If symbolism wasn’t important, why would there be baptisms in the first place?

In some countries, the church can get more money if it has more people registered. So if you get out of the church's archives, then they get less money.

The Church of England is the official state religion in England and as such it enjoys certain benefits in the British political system. Not least, are the 26 seats in the House of Lords (the upper house in the British parliament) granted to it and occupied by select archbishops and bishops. Knowing that, I can sympathise with the desires of an atheist wanting a de-baptism. I can also understand why so many respondents to a national UK poll about religion answered "Jedi" or "The Force" and that, for some, such a response is a way to show their disapproval for such a power relationship between (The) Church and State.