Church has failed to keep up with changing attitudes to death and funerals
from Religion Media Centre:
Religion is less central to funerals in Britain as people create their own ceremonies based around the life of the person, with their own choice of songs, readings and tributes. The changes were outlined in a Religion Media Centre briefing which considered a report from the think tank Theos, “Ashes to Ashes”, charting the changes in attitudes towards death, dying and the afterlife.
A funeral director told the briefing that religious funerals are in the minority, but those wanting humanist ceremonies want to reflect spirituality not tied to a particular belief. There are requests for example, for the Lord’s Prayer or a committal blessing referring to an afterlife. The report concluded that there is scope for churches and faith communities to reclaim a role, dealing with complexities of emotion and belief, and providing a community to support the bereaved. But the panel discussed the challenge that liturgy needs to catch up with societal trends.
View the briefing again here and read our report here.
Related Posts
Tags
Share This
