Just please don't try and bash me on this or anything. I'm not an atheist, so I wouldn't know. Since most funerals are religion based, do atheists, have funerals for their loved ones, or no?
2006-08-20 14:58:35 · 25 answers · asked by K 3 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Funerals are for the living. It does not take faith to grieve or to honor someone's life.
2006-08-20 15:05:05 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 4⤊ 0⤋
I'm not an Atheist, but I know a man whom I believe to be an Atheist and he is a pastor who officiates at many funerals. When he became a Pastor, he of course believed in God. But since that time, he has become quite skeptical, and while he has not come right out and said it, I think he is an Atheist. He is a very kind man, and I'm sure he is a great comfort to those who lose their loved ones. It's just kinda strange that he is a pastor and Atheist at the same time.
2006-08-20 22:04:39 · answer #2 · answered by Heron By The Sea 7 · 3⤊ 0⤋
You answered your own question. I quote, "...most funerals are religion based..", not all, just most. Yes, even atheists feel the need to honor the memory of those who have left us. They may not believe that they have gone to a better place, but they feel the need to remember the places their loved one has been.
2006-08-20 22:08:10 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
Yes. There are several books to help atheists and humanists to celebrate the lives of their loved ones who pass away.
For example: "Funerals Without God: A Practical Guide to Non-Religious Funerals," by Jane Wynne Willson.
"A Humanist Funeral Service," by Corliss Lamont.
2006-08-20 22:03:02 · answer #4 · answered by NHBaritone 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Yes, most atheists do. Its just a funeral without all the "he/she went on to a better place" nonsense. But the purpose of a funeral -- a formal ritual for psychologically "saying goodbye" -- is still relevant.
2006-08-20 22:04:39 · answer #5 · answered by Phil S 5 · 3⤊ 0⤋
Funerals are just that. Respect for the dead. It took on religious connotations. I, personally, like to be cremated and my ashes scattered on some golf course especially a course where good looking chicks play. Once you are dead, why care? You are not going to know.
2006-08-20 22:07:49 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Sure, why not? If someone dies, you still have to bury them, right? Ya just wouldn't have a church service. I mean, I think it's probably illegal to dispose of your loved ones in the garbage disposal, don'tcha think?
Seriously though, you still have to bury them, and you still want to remember them, and the people they left behind still mourn them, so I don't see why atheists wouldn't have a funeral. There would just be no presiding clergy.
2006-08-20 22:06:20 · answer #7 · answered by ♥Mira♥ 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
i think a memorial service that is not religious in any way is perfectly okay.
i plan to do that for myself. you can honor and remember the LIFE without dragging religious sentimentality into it.
as for family and friends. i attend funerals for family and friends where ever they decide and HOW ever the family decides to conduct it. i respect their last wishes because they are just that...their last wishes carried out. whether i don't agree with the "religious" part of the ceremony or not is none of my affair, besides I'm not the one that is dead!
my mother is a christian. i will honor her every wish, down to the LAST detail! i don't have to agree with her faith, to understand the meaning it has for her.
i expect the same of my family.
i wish to be cremated and my ashes scattered in two places that are dear to me.
after that...if ppl want to say something that is up to them. but nothing religious!
*PEACE*
2006-08-21 00:24:13 · answer #8 · answered by ? 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes.
I'm be having a non-religious civil wedding on the beach.
My children will have naming ceremonies in my backyard.
And when I die my loved ones are instructed to donate my organs, bury me under the ground in a nice simple outdoor service, play Imagine by John Lennon and then have a few beers.
2006-08-20 22:20:47 · answer #9 · answered by Aussie Chick 5 · 2⤊ 0⤋
If the relatives are Religious then yes. Everyone has to have a funeral whether religious or not - the body has to be disposed of. Whether anything is said , any prayers spoken, depends on the deceased's faith or lack of faith.
2006-08-20 22:05:11 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋