Do You Want a Religious Funeral



Consistent with lower church numbers and growing "nones", families are choosing not to have church or religious ceremonies for their family members. As readers know, the term "Celebration of Life" is popular.

In the link is a Catholic diocese which owns cemeteries, many dioceses do, as well as an undertaker business with all those services. The official who runs this says about 65% of deaths do the whole deal, embalming, mass, etc.  The guy says preplanning is causing "many" to require the mass and casket and entire program. He says if the family is told about the "importance" of the entire body being sent off to eternity they don't go for cremation. 

Playing with peoples' minds, suggesting guilt and taking their money is as old as humans. The church does this with gusto. What better time to suggest guilt than when mom dies. 

One thing that often happens in funerals is endless assurances the deceased was a believer, is in heaven and the family will unite there. It's not necessary to say that. I'm sure preachers often think the standard "heaven" deal is easier to fill the time with so they can go home but it carries some broad implications. 

The best funeral was one I attended a few years ago when my best friend from high school in my home town died. The church was the conservative Missouri Synod Lutheran. But the preacher is a smart guy who knew my friend and knew he would not like the standard "heaven" thing. He talked around that to capture what this great fellow was all about--it wasn't belief in Bible verses.

Several years ago a retired guy spotted me at a McDonald's in Fargo. He asked me if our local atheist group could make someone available to make brief remarks at his funeral. He said his daughter was deep into "that religious sh-t" and he had no use for it. I gave him information so he could put it in his last wishes. Probably he has died and his daughter did it her way.  

The trend in religious funerals must be tracking the trend in religion generally. When you're dead, man, you're dead.

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