right|thumb|upright|A [[stained glass representation of a Lutheran confirmation. An elder lays hands on the confirmand.]]
In Christian denominations that practice infant baptism, confirmation is seen as the sealing of the covenant created in baptism. Those being confirmed are known as confirmands. The ceremony typically involves laying on of hands.
Catholicism views confirmation as a sacrament. The sacrament is called chrismation in Eastern Christianity. In the East it takes place immediately after baptism; in the West, when a child reaches the age of reason or early adolescence, or in the case of adult baptism immediately afterwards in the same ceremony. Among those Christians who practise confirmation during their teenage years, the practice may be perceived, secondarily, as a coming of age rite.
In many Protestant denominations, such as the Lutheran, Reformed, Anglican and Methodist traditions, confirmation is a rite that often includes a profession of faith by an already baptized person. Confirmation is required by Lutherans, Anglicans and other traditional Protestant denominations for full membership in the respective church; the covenant theology of Reformed churches considers baptized infants members of the church, while confirmation or "profession of faith" is required for admittance to the Lord's Table. In Catholic theology, it is the sacrament of baptism that confers membership, while "reception of the sacrament of Confirmation is necessary for the completion of baptismal grace". The Catholic and Methodist denominations teach that in confirmation, the Holy Spirit strengthens a baptized individual for their faith journey.
Confirmation is not practiced in Baptist, Anabaptist and other groups that teach believer's baptism. Thus, the sacrament or rite of confirmation is administered to those being received from those aforementioned groups, in addition to those converts from non-Christian religions.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) does not practice infant baptism, but individuals can be baptized after they reach eight years old (the age of accountability). Confirmation in the LDS Church occurs shortly following baptism, which is not considered complete or fully efficacious until confirmation is received.
Various secular organizations also offer secular coming-of-age ceremonies as an alternative to Christian confirmation, while Unitarian Universalists have a similar coming-of-age ceremony.
Scriptural foundation
The roots of confirmation are found in the Church of the New Testament. In the Gospel of John chapter 14, Christ speaks of the coming of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles (John 14:15–26). Later, after his Resurrection, Jesus breathed upon them and they received the Holy Spirit (John 20:22), a process completed on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:1–4). In Christianity, this Pentecostal outpouring of the Spirit was held as the sign of the messianic age foretold by the prophets (cf. Ezekiel 36:25–27; Joel 3:1–2). Its arrival was proclaimed by the Apostle Peter. Filled with the Holy Spirit, the apostles began to proclaim "the mighty works of God" (Acts 2:11; Cf. 2:17–18). After this point, the New Testament records the apostles bestowing the Holy Spirit upon others through the laying on of hands.
Three texts make it certain that a laying on of hands for the imparting of the Spirit – performed after the water-bath and as a complement to this bath – existed already in the earliest apostolic times. These texts are Acts 8:4–20 and 19:1–7, and Hebrews 6:1–6.
In the Acts of the Apostles 8:14–17, different ministers are named for the two actions. It is not deacon Philip, the baptiser, but only the apostles who were able to impart the pneuma through the laying on of hands:
Further on in the text, connection between the gift of the Holy Spirit and the gesture of laying on of hands appears even more clearly. Acts 8:18–19 introduces the request of Simon the Magician in the following way: "When Simon saw that the Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles' hands". In Acts 19, baptism of the disciples is mentioned in quite general terms, without the minister being identified. Referring to 1 Corinthians 1:17, it can be presumed that Paul left the action of baptising to others. However, Acts 19:6 then expressly states that it was Apostle Paul who laid his hands upon the newly baptised. Hebrews 6:1–6 distinguishes "the teaching about baptisms" from the teaching about "the laying on of hands". The difference may be understood in the light of the two passages in Acts 8 and 19.
Christian denominational views
Catholic Church
thumb|German wood cut depicting confirmation service (1679)
In the teaching of the Catholic Church, confirmation, known also as chrismation, is one of the seven sacraments instituted by Christ for the conferral of sanctifying grace and the strengthening of the union between the individual and God.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church in paragraphs 1302–1303, states:
In the Catholic Church, the sacrament is customarily conferred only on persons old enough to understand it, and the ordinary minister of confirmation is a bishop. "If necessity so requires", the diocesan bishop may grant specified priests the faculty to administer the sacrament, although normally he is to administer it himself or ensure that it is conferred by another bishop. In addition, the law itself confers the same faculty on the following: