What do non-Christians say or do at weddings, births, and funerals??

Question

I honestly have no idea. One questions covered a funeral slightly but if they get married in churches, WHY?? Do they go to the court-house for weddings and prefer cremation at funerals? I'm not mocking and am curious to know I'm positive there are PLENTY (grin!) who can help me with this one. Thanks ahead of time for the serious respectful answers.

Thanks for the participation folks. I've made several interesting observations here which poses MORE questions so stay tuned in the future! Now you cannot say that us Christians aren't interested in your views. I just am not interested so much in how you worship (or not) another deity but more in how you arrived there and what meaning you find in life for all those special occassions. By the way: Happy Thanksgiving and God bless your time with family as you share (hopefully!) natural affections towards one another!

Answer 1

One old vicar I knew used to call these people 4 wheeled Christians...They come to church in a pram for baptism, a limo for their wedding and a hearse for their funeral. I guess that sums it up nicely ...:D

Answer 2

I'm a Pagan, my husband is Agnostic, but we were married in a Church because it is traditional to do so. WE wrote the marriage vows, lay out, etc... yet had a retired preacher to marry us. Mostly because there was nothing available that would go with both of our views of Spirituality. If there had been an available person to perform a Hand-Fasting, we would have went that way, but there was none in our area. But one of the reasons we married in a Church is because both of our families are mainly Christian and we wanted everyone to enjoy the event... not just us. Most of them would have never attended a Pagan ceremony. As for births, that's done in a hospital and so there is no ceremony to that one. Funerals, personally, I plan on having what is called a Green Burial... they wrap your body in a "shroud" and bury you in a Conservationist Reserve... to replenish the land itself. For my husband, he'll probably do the same if for no other reason that, while we are alive, we like the idea of being buried together. *shrug* But I am sure that others, even those of a Pagan path, may view this differently.

Answer 3

Our wedding was done outside at my in-laws' acreage in Warren, Oregon. We had a Wiccan priestess give a completely non-denominational "sermon", which was basically the same as a Christian one without the mention of God or all that other unimportant crap.

We still read our vows, promised our love for one another, and made the same promise to be faithful to each other forever. We each took turns weaving a cord in our wedding colors and had a Hand Fasting, and then jumped a broomstick. The last two were symbolic, as my wife's grandmother is Wiccan and had a happy 56-year marriage before her husband died.

It was not a huge wedding. Friends and family took care of everything. My wife's grandmother, sister and mother made all the food, grandma made all the costumes as well as the wedding dress, mother did the cake and flowers, and my friend did the photography.

Seven years later, we are still very happily married. We are open and honest with each other about everything, and we let the other person be who they want to be without judgment. I love her more every single day, and it was a marriage made completely without God's intervention or blessing.

So just as in every other aspect in life, you don't have to be married by God for it to be legitimate.

Answer 4

if i am invited to a church ceremony , then during the time i am there i respect the beliefs of those who have lovingly invited me
i sing the songs , pray etc as i too believe in God all be it not the biblical God ( but i feel it is the same )
when i married i got married in a registry office ... it was a beautiful gothic building and resembled in many ways a church
we have a lovely service with beautiful vows
and when i die ... i really dont mind what they do with my body ... my spirit will live on xx

Answer 5

Pagan who married an agnostic, here.

Our wedding was done by a licenced, non-religious officiant, at a local hall (we wanted to have the wedding outside but it was raining). Our cermony included things like the importance of working together, vows that included love, honor, cherish, etc.

Basically it was like a "traditional" ceremony, but without the word God in it. Interestingly, we had several people tell us that it was one of the most moving and meaningful ceremonies they'd ever attended. I wouldn't have minded overt references to God/dess, but we opted not to out of respect for my husband's beliefs. I had some symbolic things in the wedding and reception that were my ways of honoring the God and Goddess.

If we'd wanted, we probably could have gotten married in one of the local UU churches.

I personally want to be cremated and have my ashes returned to the earth - that is more in tune with my pagan beliefs. My husband wants to be cremated because it's more expedient and to him it makes more sense than paying for the cemetery plot and casket.

Hope that helps some!

Answer 6

Well, other religions and cultures have their own ceremonies. Non believers though just often use the justice of the peace for marriage and often at some nice location, unless their family is of a certain religion still and they just decide to go with that for their family.

Births, I dunno...kids are born, brought home from hospital, have birthdays...not sure what you are looking for.

Funerals, I've always kind of wondered for non believers actually.

Answer 7

I was married in a unitarian universalist church (my first marriage was in a catholic church). I also am the godfather for two children. In all cases, I interpret these ceremonies as our culture's spiritual and community-oriented mechanisms that have deep significance. As there are many different christians who will interpret the bible and christianity differently, so am I one of the ones with a different interpretation. The love behind it all is what matters.

Answer 8

I have never attended a birth in a church.
I have been to weddings and funerals.Quite simply,I do not sing hymns,I do not pray but I do respect others who wish to do so.
My attendance has nothing to do with god but I go as a sign of respect and love for the people involved.
Yes, believe it or not,atheists are capable of showing love

Answer 9

Well I was married in early October. I'm an Atheist, and my husband doesn't label himself but I would consider him Agnostic. We were married on the Beach by a minister. We chose to have traditional Christian vows so as not to cause waves with our parents who believe we are both Christians. Sometimes it is easier to ignore the things that you don't agree with than to condemn. The way I see it, if Christianity helps someone explain the world and give them hope, I'm glad they have it. Who am I to try to alter they're reality. I only have beef with people who try to "educate" me and try to alter my reality. Just be who you want to be and believe what helps you to understand the world around you and your place in it.

Answer 10

As an Atheist i had a 2 minute wedding in a club with a celebrant, we said "yes" and "yes" and then signed the legal paper work and returned to the bar.
Births - while birthing my son i said "F*ck ouch etc" once he was in my arms i said "welcome to the world"
Funerals - havent been to one, dont like the idea of them so I dont know.