Can a person be confirmed in two different religions?

Answer 1

If you mean can a person be confirmed as both a Catholic and a Protestant then yes they can, because these are two different denominations of the same religion - Christianity, although why anyone should wish to be confirmed twice is rather strange. Confirmation simply confirms the vows made by your Godparents on your behalf at infant baptism. These vows are the belief in God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, a repentance of sin, and a turning to Christ for salvation. Despite some differences between the Catholic Church and the Protestants, all Christian churches (unless sects like JWs or Mormons) accept the Trinity, repentance as a way to be right with God and Christ as the way to salvation. So confirmation twice in two Christian denominations is unnecessary.

However if the confirmation is to take place in two actual religions (like Christianity and Islam, or Islam and Buddhism) then this is not possible (even if they had a 'confirmation' - type service) as the differences between each religion are soo great that one could not promise to adhere to one without turning their back on another. You cannot worship Allah and Krishna unless you pay lip service to one of the religions!

AnswerFrom the point of view of the Roman Catholic Church regarding the treatment of sacraments and theology, you cannot be confirmed in two different religions. This because the sacrament of confirmation leaves a permanent character upon the soul and thus can only be received once. While materially you can, i.e. you can undergo the ceremony of confirmation many times as in going through the motions, the Church only recognizes a confirmation that has been administered by a bishop with orders accepted as valid by the Church. Protestant confirmations are not recognized and are deemed both illicit and invalid as Catholics do not accept Protestant bishops as having valid orders. The hallmark in this decision was determined by pope Leo XIII in his bull Apostolicae Curae of September 15, 1896 which determined that Anglican bishops had changed the sacrament too long before restoring it for the succession of valid orders in that denomination. Other denominations have made no attempt to restore their orders to the original pre-Reformation form. On a convert from one of these denominatios a Catholic bishop will administer the sacrament of confirmation to the candidate for the first time based on the above ruling. A confirmation received from an Orthodox bishop is considered illicit but valid, as the Orthodox have retained valid orders and thus the Roman Catholic Church will receive the confirmation as completed. The Roman Catholic Church considers any valid confirmation to be Her own, and thus one is confirmed in the Catholic Faith so long as the sacrament is valid, no matter what the allegiance of the administering bishop.