What is a funeral like for atheists?

Question

Where I live (a pretty rural place) every funeral I've ever been to has been strongly Christian themed. You know, passages from the bible, preist, crosses everywhere, amazing grace...

But what about people who are atheists? What do they fill the time during the funeral up with? It must be short and sweet? Is there such a thing as an atheists funeral in these rural places?

Answer 1

Try as they may, some country minister just can't preach them into heaven.

Answer 2

Humanists, who are an organisation of people who don't believe in God, have developed some interesting approaches to life events, including funerals. Look at the British Humanist Association website, www.humanism.org.uk or find your local organisation through www.iheu.org Humanist organisations flourish in many places, including rural areas, and humanist funerals take place everywhere.

The humanist funerals I have attended have been very moving and meaningful occasions. They celebrate the value of the individual life that has ended through personal contributions from family members and/or friends, readings from poetry, prose or other sources that relate in some way to the deceased person and include music that they liked. The British Humanist Association has a network of celebrants throughout the UK who will lead such ceremonies, consulting with the family/friends on the form they want it to take. They take great care to make the ceremony individual and appropriate. A remarkable number of people who are not members of the BHA ask such celebrants to lead funerals for their deceased relations and friends, who they know would not want a religious funeral, as well as the members of the BHA. You can find celebrants through the BHA website mentioned above and they will happily explain to you what is involved.

Answer 3

I think pretty much the same as many religious funerals, only without churches and prayers. People are crying because they miss the deceased, some are happy about the inheritance. Lots of flours, sad music, or sometimes even happy music if the dead person would have liked that. Also speeches about how much he/she will be missed. Well, stuff like that. Atheists only don't think that that person is happy in heaven now or something like that. Atheists do not expect the experience of death to be very different than the experience before life: totally nothing.

Answer 4

A friend of ours(a staunch atheist) was killed riding his motorcycle. His funeral was a get together of all of his friends saying silly things that he had done and how they remember him. We read his favorite jokes and then we each took a part off his mangled motorcycle and put it in his casket. The funeral lasted about two hours- No mention of an after life, no dreary "Amazing Grace" type songs. no prayers, no Bible passages. Afterward he was cremated and buried with the rest of his cycle. Tommy was from a very small rural town.

Answer 5

they probably give the relatives opportunity to grieve, perhaps read poetry, but in the end there is not the same hope as there would for a Christian who would have HOPE to be raised forever and overcome death

they might be like the politically correct funeral at Vuirginia Tech, where the place is 85% Baptist.. The universisty called in 4 speakers: 1 Muslim who read the Koran and invoked the name of Allah, 1 Buddist, 1 Rabbi and 1 Lutheran who quoted no scripture and although the Muslim invoked the name of Allah the person who was supposed to represent Lutheran did not name the name of Jesus. ALthough the students were 85% Baptist, and although there are huge Baptist churches around, a Baptist speaker was not invited

I guess that would be a politically correct funeral... but to be honest.... Virginia Tech did a major disservice to the students to have a "funeral" like this which in no way represented the students of the local community

Answer 6

It varies. Many atheists are still culturally Christians -- a friend of mine is actually a Catholic, but also an atheist -- and as cultural Christians they have culturally Christian funerals.

Others might have a more modest affair, similar to a Christian funeral, but without the religious themes.

Good question though.

Answer 7

My guess is, it would be something like a simple remembrance of that person by their friends and family, with no rites, no prayer, none of that. My great uncle died recently, and he specifically asked while on his deathbed that there be no religious service - the family went ahead with a religious (Catholic) service anyway. That infuriated me. He'd left the Church years ago, but the family did what made them feel better, instead of what he wanted. I'm in a pretty rural area myself, and I really don't know. Maybe it's more akin to a wedding with a Justice instead of a priest?

Answer 8

I'm an atheist and I have attended funerals without any problems. The sentiments expressed are important not the manner of service. I just don't pray or join in with hymn singing.

Answer 9

Instead of bible passages you might hear poetry that was favored by the deceased. Instead of singing hymns you would hear and/or sing favorite songs of the deceased, etc. Friends and family might like to say a few words...
It's not like they just throw the dead guy into the ground...
Use your imagination...

Answer 10

most atheist have christian family members who will not allow anything but a christian funeral

Answer 11

Funerals are for the living.