Non-Religious Weddings and Funerals

 
An article on EurekAlert reports that in the UK Funerals without religion set for huge increase.

The number of people in the UK who opt for non-religious funeral services is set to rise dramatically over the coming years, according to a presenter at the Death, dying & disposal conference organised by the University of Bath today (Friday 14 September).

Around two per cent of UK funerals are currently non-religious, but according to 2001 census figures 27 per cent of the population consider themselves to be non-religious.

This, says Simon Allen, a Humanist Officiant, suggests that the current growth in secular funerals is just the beginning of an immense and rapid change in funeral practice.

I want to make sure that everyone in the Toronto area knows that non-religious weddings and funerals have been available for 10 years through the Humanist Association [Humanist Association of Toronto: Ceremonies].

The website lists Humanist officiants who are legally registered to perform marriages—they will also do funerals and childnaming ceremonies. We recently engaged one of these officiants, Kathryn Cook, for our daughter's wedding in June. I highly recommend her. There's no reason that one should be forced to hire a religious person for any of these ceremonies.