Humanist Funeral Principles
No matter what religion we belong to, death is always painful, maybe even shocking and painful, even if we were expecting it. Most of us have attended religious funerals, but you might not yet have attended a humanist funeral that is devoid of Christian beliefs. So what is humanism?
Humanism is your choice of living an ethical life that is always aspiring to the greater good of humanity. A humanist isn’t like an atheist as there are humanists who believe in a God.
Abraham Lincoln was a humanist with faith, and he referred to God often, acting in a way he believed to be good and right and believed in human need.
Humanist Funeral – A time of Quiet Reflection
Humanism affirms that a human has the right as well as responsibility to give shape and meaning to his or her own life. It believes in building a more humane society based on human values and other natural values.
A humanist funeral brings like-minded people together to express their grief and sadness of the person who has passed on.
Their funeral will focus sincerely on the person who died, and pay tribute to their contributions in the world as well as the way that they lived their life whilst on earth.
A funeral director is the one who is most likely to handle all the practical arrangements of a humanist funeral. This will depend on the type of ceremony chosen by the family. Humanist funerals, like all other funerals, occur whenever necessary. However, most take place in a crematorium, a cemetery or a woodland burial site.
The Humanist Association believe in Reason and Respect for Others
The British Humanist Association offer a funeral ceremony that most fits the circumstances. This association is familiar with all the cremation or burial procedures.
They guide the family through the entire process of arranging a humanist funeral ceremony. The association will meet with family and friends to learn about the person who has died so that they can capture their life and personality at the funeral.
The humanist association advise on practical matters such as committal options or what time the ceremony will be. They listen to the family’s ideas on music or readings, offering their own advice if necessary.
The association also share their ideas and liaise with those involved in the funeral ceremony. Assistance with the humanist funeral proceedings will take place in a manner filled with calm and dignity.
Humanist Funeral – Respecting their wishes
Humanist funerals aren’t really about people who are anti-religious, rather about people who are not religious. During the funeral, you will probably need to reflect on the life of the dead person, and those with other faiths are welcome to use this time for their own private prayers. There just won’t be prayers spoken out loud or any hymns sung.
Conclusion
Humanists provide a secular alternative to traditional religion. It is not a new concept either – humanist funerals have been conducted for as long ago as in the 1890s which means that thousands occur each year.
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All info was correct at time of publishing