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Throughout the ages, man has relied on religion to explain the natural occurrences in life. In every religion culture, therefore, it seems that as the infant grows and matures into adulthood that religious ceremonies are designated to celebrate and accentuate these stages of development and the increased responsibility and levels of religious understanding associated with each particular stage. The religious ceremonies or rites of passage allow the individual to become a more active participant in the religion and tend to mark the most significant transition in the life span. This paper will examine the similarities between the rites of passage in Christianity and the seven rites of the Oglala Sioux. The most significant changes in life begin with the birth of the infant. In Christianity, the idea of original sin gives credence to the ceremony of baptism. Baptism symbolizes the washing away of original sin and the event which marks the change in status from being an outsider to being a part of the Christian group. Although baptism may occur at any time in one’s life, many Christian religions practice the sprinkling pf water on the infants as a means of celebrating the new life. In baptism, water is used to cleanse the