This answer seems a bit late by reading the date but according to Islam, this is not something that is believed in since the belief of Muslims is that God does not resemble the creation plus he should not be more or less participating in something that goes against his belief.  Muslims do not have what you call "godfathers or godmothers".  He should know this and if he does not he needs to ask this question again to another Muslim.  Hope that helps because it is not just an issue of  your faith but it is also a very serious issue for his new one.  Have a great day. :o)

I think it all depends on the parish priest. 

 It took alot of convincing to get my boyfriend to agree to baptize our daughter catholic (still hasn't been done).  He is Greek Orthodox...which is pretty much the same as Catholic minus the Pope thing...exact same beliefs otherwise.  So he agreed we'd baptize her catholic and get married orthodox. 

 The church that I (sometimes) go to has a couple of priests.  While I was still pregnant I contacted a priest regarding baptism and he told me that we could not baptize our child because first, i was not married, and second, my boyfriend was not Catholic, and third, the godparents that we had chose were not married and one was not catholic.  This really upset me because I had taught Cathechism for 6 years prior and was actively involved with the church in my hometown.  The following week I went back and asked a different priest who also denied me and said that i wouldn't be a good role model given my lifestyle (pregnant and unmarried) and that our choice of godparents was not acceptable either as they had a child out of wedlock as well.  I got really angry...you know how them pregnancy hormones can be...plus a little portuguese temper...and I told him fine, if he wants to deny my child then whatever, but he'd be answering to a higher power one day as to why he didn't allow my baby to be baptized...and i also said that i was going to go to the jehova witness church, they'd accept us no problem!  

Anyway, I stopped going to church...which was a huge thing for me as I always went every sunday.  Since my daughter was born, I have gone to church maybe 5 or 6 times...she is 9 months old.  A couple of months ago, I spoke with the main priest (hadn't spoke with him before) and I told him the situation.  I told him that I was very angry with his church for denying my daughter and punishing her for whatever sin I may have commited...although I don't feel that being unmarried and having a child is a sin, we are commited to eachother.  He apologized for whatever was said by the other priests and told me that if we wanted to baptize our daughter, we have every right to.  He cannot stop us...he said that by wanting baptism for our child was like making a promise that we'd raise her to be catholic, and that if we broke that promise, we'd only be breaking it to ourselves.  He was very nice about it all.  He said it didn't matter that my boyfriend was not catholic, as long as he won't interfere with raising her catholic.  He also said that it didn't matter that the people we had chosen as godparents were unwed or that one was not catholic (he is by baptism).  As long as they will support us in raising Talia catholic and not interfere either then we could choose whoever...only requirement was that they promise to help raise her catholic.  He just said that it's better to have catholic godparents as it'll be easier to teach her catholicism rather than a non-catholic.  He was very understanding and very good about it all. 

Now the problem is that my boyfriend is upset about how the first priests had spoken with me that he's sort of not wanting to baptize her Catholic...he's wanting Orthodox now...which is a whole other story!!  But whatever, I've registered with the church, its just a matter of taking the classes now and then we'll go from there. 

 I hope it all works out for you, I know it can be very frusterating.  Also I'd like to add that my mom chose a godfather for my sister that wasn't catholic and they allowed it because his wife (my sister's godmother) is catholic.  I hope it'll all work out for you in the end...if all else fails, try going to a different catholic church and speaking with the parish priest there.

The main reason that a prist does the baptism is to itroduce the child to the faith (in a way) a godperent is the person that leads the child to the faith and shows the child the path. I am sure there are alternativs to a babtism where your brother can be a godfather

I am Roman Catholic and at the various parishes in the U.S. I have attended the rules have been the same.  You can have as many godparents as you want.  But you MUST have one godparent who is Catholic.   My sister had this issue when she had her first child, until she asked Izzy and I to be godparents in addition to her 1st choice.

Izzy and I went through this as well when we selected Godparents.  We had to select Izzy's cousin (Catholic) so we could select her brother also (who was not Catholic).

My daughter is being baptised in a few days time. The only requirement that the church made was that at least one godparent be a confirmed catholic, once that is fulfilled you can have any number or religions. The friends we wanted as her godparents are both Anglican so we needed to find someone else - luckily it wasn't hard for us but they couldn't understand why they needed to share the role. Once we explained it to them they were fine (I hope) and I'm sure you brother would understand why he couldn't be the sole godparent.

If you are unsure about anything the church is usually very helpful and willing to answer any questions you may have.

Check with your church.
I had my son baptise catholic last year in NSW and my church said that only one Godparent had to be catholic.

I think that maybe you should consider a baptism and a naming ceremony. Nominate people to be Godparents at the baptism and then have a naming ceremony where you brother can promise to take care of the child as well as the Godparents.

To be honest I think that you are showing your brother how much you love him by inviting to be part of your child's live in that way. A naming ceremony is performed by a Celebrant and has no religion affilation at all. If you can afford both I really believe that is your best option. And if you can't afford both right now, maybe put off the naming ceremony until you can afford it and make it a private day just for family members who wish to attend.

Good luck.

I am Roman Catholic and have had my twin boys Baptised Catholic.  The ones Godmom is Catholic and the others Goddad is Catholic.  Each of their other Godparent is another religion.  My church allowed me to do this as long as one Godparent was Catholic.  All four Godparents were at the Bapism and all four participated in the ceremony.

HI THERE IAM ROMAN CATHOLIC AND ALL MY KIDS WERE BAPTISED AND NO HE CANNOT BE THE GODFATHER  SORRY THE ONLY WAY HE COULD BE GODFATHER AND ANYTHING SIMULAR WOULD BE IF YOU CONVERTED INTO ISLAM OR IF YOU HAD A WICCA SEREMONY WHICH WOULD MENA YOUR KIDS WOULD NOT BE CATHOLIC I ADVISE YOU TO FIND ANOTHER GODTFATHER IF YOU WANT YOUR KIDS TO BE BAPTISED CATHOLIC .UNLESS HE WANTS TO CONVERT BACK TO THE OLD RELIGION GOOD LUCK.

Sorry, no, he can't, according to the Catholic church rules.

I'll run you through a few facts, give you some points to think about, and let you make up your own mind how you would prefer to deal with the situation.

Firstly, despite common belief, Godparents have absolutely no legal significance or rights regarding the child.  It is purely religious, or for many people its a social thing.

Baptisms/christenings are supposed to be done for religious reasons.  A Godparents role in the life of the child is supposed to be to ensure that the child is taught and raised properly according to the dogma (rules) of the church.  Which, for the Catholic church, can mean that the Godparents should make sure the child is taken to mass every Sunday, goes to Sunday school, doesn't eat red meat on Good Friday, goes to confession, is Communed, Confirmed, and possibly even contributing to the costs of Catholic schooling, etc, etc.  Exactly how much responsibility the Godparents take on with this regards is largely between them and the parents.  If the parents are doing all that stuff, there's not a lot that the Godparents will need to do.  Of course, all this largely depends on how seriously the parents and Godparents take their role and responsibility in this regards.

On the flip side, now days most people have their child baptised/christened for social reasons.  This gives parents a way to honour their friends and extended family by giving them a social significance to the child.  There is nothing that really needs to be done by the Godparents in this regards except turn up to the ceremony - and even that can sometimes be done by proxy - as the social-only reason holds no responsibility what-so-ever.

For religious reasons, not only would your brother be unable to be the Godparent, being of a totally different religion, but I doubt if he'd want to, given the responsibility involved.  I can't see too many Islams taking children to a Catholic Sunday Mass.

For social reasons, given there is no religious responsibility, there's not really any reason why a Godparent can't be of a differing religion; except that if the Church that is baptising/christening the child finds out and refuses to accept them within the ceremony.  The question is, who is going to tell them?

Some sections of the Catholic Church now days are also insisting that any parents that want their child baptised with the church attend - I can't remember what it is called, but for all intensive purposes a religious education program - before they will allow the baptism.  Some also want Godparents to attend if possible.  This can be avoided if you attend church functions regularly and the priest that is baptising your child knows you well, or if you are lucky enough to not live in one of those (can't spell, sounds like di-a-see? so I'll just say...) areas that imposes that little rule.

Socially speaking, all that is unnessary.  As an alternative, instead of having your child baptised Catholic, you could instead have a little social ceremony in a neutral place, such as a park or a hired hall, whereby you announce that those that would-be Godparents have a significant role to play in the child's life.  This may mean coming up with a different unreligious title (I've heard of Aunt and Uncle being used for example) and defining what that actually means for the family, the would-be Godparents, and the child.  You can invent and start your own traditions, your own little rituals, and even blend the concepts of different religious ceremonies together to achieve this.  However, be aware that in doing this it can easily offend the sensitivities of people that are very religious if you aren't very careful.  You will need to learn about the rituals and why they are used before considering adapting them to your own needs.

You really need to consider why you are going to have your child baptised, why Catholic, and why you want you brother - or anyone else for that matter - to be a Godparent.

I know that in answering your question I've also put you in a position where you need to ask a lot more questions, but they are questions that need to be discussed with your family, those that you would like to be the Godparents, and if you do go with the Catholic church, the priest that will be baptising the child.

Whatever you end up doing, good luck with it.

HI there we my personal opinion is that its YOUR choice not the churches its YOUR child not theres and if u choose him to b  the godfather its your choice i mean all this religous stuff is way out of hand i mean if you choose the brother to be godfather they  should be no say in the church only cause they are under another church i mean by all means choose the church that you want and get your brother to b godfather -i mean they couldnt be much marriages if you had to be in there church .....I do believe in churches but they should be choices as in this society they are mixure of religion and people too and they shouldnt be forced to take they religion cause of the Godfather part as hes not in there church any more please dont take this to heart as i do believe in what choice u made in church but the godfather shouldnt be dismissed cause of his religion.Well best of luck an i hope it all works out kind regards Tracey

There are a lot of rules in the catholic church.  My sister wanted me to be her sons godmother but I couldn't because I was living in sin with my boyfriend.  Also my cousin wanted to baptise her daughter and they have choosen my boyfriend and I but the catholic church in her town said no because my boyfriend isn't a catholic anymore (he was baptised catholic.  My cousin did find a a priest who will baptise her daughter and allow my boyfriend and I to be the god parents but she had to do it in another town.  So ask your priest, I think it all depends on the priest.  (Thats what they told my Cousin).  Good luck with finding the right priest for your child.

If he wants to be the godfather he can. It is a personal decison. In my opinion, you don't have to be the same religion to be someones godmother or godfather. You can have a good relationship with the child either way.

I am guessing we are talking about baptism in the Catholic faith? If so, you'll have to have at least one godparent that is a practicing catholic. So you can have your brother as a godfather, but since he isn't a practicing catholic, you'll have to find another one who is.

My suggestion is to actually contact the church you want to have your daughter baptized. They will tell you what needs to be done and what preparations you have to do. Catholic churches in different countries may differ a little bit in the requirements and preparations. The policy I've described above is practiced here in the U.S.

Good luck!