I am the god parent of a young child (a 3rd generation swancon attendee!), a responsibility I take very seriously. While the responsibility of raising the child should her parents die is something we have talked about, the other responsibility we have thought about is the idea of there being someone for moral/spiritual guidance. I think it is valuable for a child to have someone that they know they can talk to about that sort of thing, but who isn't their parents (there are always going to be some issues you just don't want to discuss with your parents). I promised her parents that, when the time comes (she is still only a toddler), that I'd try to ensure she got a real moral and religious education, from Nietsche to Voodoo.

So I just wanted to say that I agree that, even though a lot of us don't want someone to fill the traditional religious education role, that godparents are valuable even for people that don't see a need for the traditional 'god' part, and I think it is great that you are thinking hard about it.