It may not feel the right way to say their final farewell to someone who did not accept the religious view of life and death. In this case it is likely to have more warmth and meaning if the ceremony is of the kind favoured by the British Humanist Association's officiants. Humanists care deeply about moral issues, but from a non-religious standpoint, and our outlook has a very long history. We believe in the good that is in human beings, and the right of the individual to free choice in the main decisions of life and death. We hold that humanity must find solutions to problems from within itself, not rely on the supernatural.
Humanist officiants come from a variety of backgrounds.
What they share is an ability to empathise with the experience of bereavement. They are men and women familiar with the procedures of cremation and burial. Whatever the circumstances of the life and death, officiants are not there to moralise or judge - but to understand. Together with you they can plan a personal and dignified funeral ceremony, and conduct it for you on the day if that is your wish. Once you have arranged to have a non-religious humanist ceremony, your officiant will wish to speak with you, and ideally meet you and possibly others closely affected by the death.