This is a very interesting experience, but very specific to Protestants (it seems). As someone who was raised as a Catholic, I can see there are many distinctions in doctrine and behavious between the two, although many of the fundamental dogmas (and thus, philosophical issues) are the same… but it seems to me that, at least here in Latin America, that the Catholic Church is not as keen on that whole “Church first” and dogmatic purity thing as many Protestant Churches are. There is a huge hierarchy, though, and someone actually baptizing someone else is unthinkable; it doesn’t make any sense in the Catholic world to have a layperson baptize someone else, and if it happened I think they’d just pretend it didn’t.
Anyhow, the philoshophical consequences of religion in general and christianity in particular are a huge subject… although sometimes human do stuff that isn’t one hundred percent logic (and does it have to be? There is no logic in loving one’s language, family and country; it is arbitrary). Anyhow, the thing is that religions asks you to believe, and not only participate (you can’t just accept either, you’ve got to truly 100% believe it from deeply whithin your heart) — which makes it different from other traditional identity or belonging groups…