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Atheist Funerals

Gevaudan

Thinker
Gevaudan
Joined
Apr 8, 2008
Messages
181
Pardon if this is a stupid question, but has anyone ever been to an atheist's funeral?

I've only ever been to two funerals and at both there was a preacher and a lot of praying, hymn-singing, reciting bible verses and all that. Since I'm obviously not going to be attending mine and I don't know any other atheists, I was curious as to what the services (if that's the correct word) would be like, where people would go, and so on. I'd prefer to be used for organ transplants and the leftovers cremated, but it would be nice to have some sort of gathering of loved ones and maybe a tombstone.
 
Gevaudan said:
Pardon if this is a stupid question, but has anyone ever been to an atheist's funeral?
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Only two. Both of them featured three people - close friends or relatives - telling their favorite stories about the deceased. The music ranged from classical to Bruce Sprinsteen. People cried. People laughed. People showed up drunk and slept through the whole thing. There were lots of flowers and Kleenex.

Except for the lack of religious overtones, they went pretty much like any protestant funeral or a Jewish "Sitting Shiva".

A dead person is still dead, no matter what kind of funeral they may or may not have.
 
I realize they're still dead, I was just wondering how the live people organized events.
 
My grandfather was, if not an atheist, pretty irreligious (he threw out a priest who someone had sent to visit him in his hospital room). There was still a priest speaking at the funeral, although he didn't say much that was particularly religious (although I was far too upset to actually listen to the man most of the time).

My grandmother's funeral was more recent, but I don't remember if any religious people said anything- I recall the things said by friends and relatives. Everything else is a blur.
 
That's an excellent question. I have instructions to be creamated with no more than a lunch at a local place with an open bar for remembering me. My hope is people will have fun remembering me. I want my ashes scattered at the local dam with the ashes of my first dog that I have and my current dog that I'll probably outlive.
 
Gevaudan said:
I realize they're still dead, I was just wondering how the live people organized events.
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funerals ain't really for the dead.

i was never at an athiest's funeral (and i'm really not one myself*) but i would just hope that whoever was there carried out the wishes of whomever died.








*subject for different thread.
 
Two things to keep in mind. First -- funerals are for the living. Second -- the dead don't give a <fill in the blank>. When both my parents died, there was nothing further I could do for them. My wife asks, "What do you want me to do if/when you die?" My response, "I don't care. I'll be dead." Whether your body is preserved as a holy relic of the True Church, or you are ground into dog food, I assure you you won't care. :boggled:
 
My uncle's funeral in 2003 was taken by a officiant from the British Humanist Association. It was simply a celebration of his life - no nonsense about an afterlife - no prayers - no religious music; it was Mantovani as we went in and 'Life goes on' sung by Marmalade as we left. And everyone came out smiling; a most uplifting event. When the time comes I would like to have a similar event for myself.
 
Gevaudan said:
I realize they're still dead...
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Good. Let the dead bury the dead.

Gevaudan said:
... I was just wondering how the live people organized events.
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Same as any other, except they specify "Non-Religious Service" to the funeral director, and they don't worry about giving a gratuity to a pastor, priest, or rabbi.
 
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Eh, I hope they follow the entire organ doner on my drivers license, and really, it would be great if someone could do something funny with the corpse, but I realize that I don't take the concept of my own funeral very seriously. Preferably, I would like to be in the audience.
 
Gord_in_Toronto said:
My wife asks, "What do you want me to do if/when you die?" My response, "I don't care. I'll be dead." Whether your body is preserved as a holy relic of the True Church, or you are ground into dog food, I assure you you won't care. :boggled:
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Ahhhh, the Klingon response. That was one of the things that Star Trek got exactly right. "Do what you wish with the body - it is just a shell. He is gone."

A good funeral story - I knew an old engineer who made his money in water wells. He was irreligious himself, and he died one night of a heart attack at the poker table in a casino in Blackhawk, Colorado. His prissy sister invited a Baptist preacher to MC the funeral, and it was obvious he was in distress. He could only say that, "Joe died doing what he loved", no word of god or salvation or anything else. It was good for comedy, but unilluminating spiritually, if you know what I mean.
 
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My ex-wife's mother once told us, "Just stuff me in an old cardboard box and leave me by the side of the road." ( <-- Insert country hick / trailer trash voice here. )

Too bad I went overseas after the divorce, or I would have personally carried out her last wishes!
 
I hope that the next time I go to a funeral there will be people carrying me in and out. Too many people I have loved are gone, and I don't want to go to any more funerals.

I've made it clear to my kids and my lovely husband that I absolutely do not want any kind of religious ceremony, the rest should be as best serves the bereaved. I won't have any further requirements at that point.
 
I'd like to feed the fish. Bury me at sea, naked. Nothing to inhibit the buffet but some chain and a concrete block. (wait 'til I die though)

Did you know that burial at sea is one option for veterans? But I talked to one retired naval officer who said he wouldn't do it. Too much PITA for the crew. He'd been an assistant navigator, in charge of Honors and Ceremonies, so he ought to know.
 
One of our close friends, a longtime atheist, had a very nice memorial. He'd been involved in the local theater for years, and there was a scrapbook of some of the productions he'd been involved in and the roles he'd played.
A number of friends and acquaintances gave various remembrances, and champagne was served.
Pretty nice send-off, no preachers, no wailing, no body to stare at.
 
Senex- Tell us more about "creamation".
They put you through a blender, then burn you?
 
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