More than 30,000 funerals in Britain last year were nonreligious, as families turn increasingly to "celebration-of-life" ceremonies rather than church services, according to new figures.
The rise is being attributed to people's growing willingness to admit that they are non-believers, and to their desire to avoid "hypocrisy".
Ten years ago, a funeral without a minister of religion and reference to God was virtually unheard of but increasingly, services are presided over by a "celebrant" and involve poems instead of psalms, while mourners are often asked to wear something bright rather than black.
Read the rest of the article here (thanks to SermonAudio.com for the link)
1 comment:
It is interesting that the majority of the "non-religious funerals" that are sited in this article were presided over by or had some connection to the British Humanist Association. I do not have a problem with some wanting a "Non-Religious" funeral, but please do not call a British Humanist Association funeral a non religious event. Humanism is just as much a religion as any other non-Christian religion. The article should have been more appropriately entitled "Non Christian Funerals on the Rise in Britain," which should take into account an increase in the number of Muslim, Buddhist, Taoism, Hinduism or Bahai funerals. All of which are religions.
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