AS Christianity becomes less important to our multi-cultural, increasingly secular society, fewer children are being christened or confirmed in religious ceremonies in Britain.

And this has left a gap in the development of social responsibility in young people's minds, according to some.

Now Labour MP for Birkenhead, Frank Field, thinks the breakdown of decent behaviour can be restored through his Rite of Passage (Welcoming and Coming of Age) Bill.

He wants every newborn child to go through a civil naming ceremony within 21 days of birth.

And at the age of 14, the child would go through a second initiation, where they would proclaim their rights and responsibilities in society to a public audience.

Mr Field said now was the time to deal with the decay becoming prevalent modern society.

He said in bygone days, social virtues were passed from parent to child through familial duty. He argues that this has irreparably broken down.

"What we have witnessed... was first of all a small, but sadly now a more increasing number of families, who have no idea that their duty is to teach those common virtues to their offspring," he said.

His proposals would be secular, but they would underline traditional religious ceremonies - baptism, confirmation, Bar Mitzvahs. This state-sanctioned rite of passage would be open to the public, and in exchange for vows reminding children of a wider society beyond the family, children "would be welcomed into the community", said Mr Field.

The Bill, despite little chance of success, has received the heavyweight backing of the Work and Pensions Secretary, David Willets. The Bill receives its second reading before Parliament on Friday, November 5.

But one high-flying politician's ideas to turn the country into a harmonious Utopia, where 15-year-old boys carry out a spot of community service before playing whist with their granny in the afternoon, have been met with scepticism by front-line staff in Worcester.

Lynne Pritchard , who runs the Jelly Bean playgroup in Ronkswood, Worcester, acknowledged that some elements of society did make life a misery for others, but it was not the job of politicians to interfere in family life.

"I think children should be brought up properly right from the start - it's the family's responsibility, not politicians'.

A man who has regular contact with boys during their early teenage years is Michael Boswell who runs Worcester Boys' Brigade.

When members join the Boys' Brigade, they pledge to treat others with respect and compassion, though the "object" is based on Christianity

Mr Boswell said 14 was too late to attempt to change errant children's social outlook - their opinions of what they could get away with were already formed.

He agreed with Mr Field that action was needed to combat increasing levels of antisocial behaviour and that introducing notions of social responsibility began at birth.

"The process really starts from the cradle, and from what I have seen, by the age of 14, children have their own set of ideas about what is acceptable and what is not."

But like Ms Pritchard, he thought this political crusade was unlikely to come to much.

Liz Eyre, chairwoman of the Children and Young Persons Strategic Partnership, and cabinet member for Social Care and Health at Worcestershire County Council was also wary of Mr Field's proposal.

"I have great faith in ordinary people. There are families that succeed and those that fail, but I still think the best people to support children are families."

Ms Eyre said there were times when the authorities had to pick up the pieces from broken-down families, but the opportunity to find out what went wrong must not be allowed to pass.

The police are often the first to deal with anti-social incidents.

Chief Insp Sharon Gibbons, of West Mercia police, said the responsibility to ensure a functioning society could be broadened beyond the family to include the whole of society, and a simple ceremony would not create the sea change needed to improve society.

"It's not just for families to be responsible - all of us need to work together," she said.

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