Key recommendations emerging from the research
The research found that initial choices and guidance provided to people organising funerals tends to focus on the binaries of religious or non-religious, rather than the more nuanced middle-ground that most funerals encompass. Independent celebrants are generally viewed as flexible in adapting to a range of ‘degrees of religion’ in funeral services. Not all people using the services of celebrants connect with the term ‘celebrant’ and its connotations of celebration, however. People present with a range of complex spiritual needs when designing funerals for their relatives, relating to their own needs, those they perceive of the deceased, and those of others in their families and beyond.
It is not clear that funeral arrangers and celebrants are trained to manage these complex spiritual needs or to reflect on how their own positions affect how they guide and influence people. The mainstream funeral industry appears to centre on Christianity primarily when religious content is incorporated into funerals and there may be a lack of racial and religious diversity among officiants. Some experiences of discrimination emerged in our study for black celebrants. It is not clear whether funeral industry professionals are reflecting on these diversity issues.
Officiant Profiles – to support informed choice
While funeral arrangers do go on to discuss people’s desire to incorporate religious content into funerals, the study found that people could be presented with a more nuanced range of initial choices for funerals beyond simply religious or non-religious, church leader or celebrant.
People organising funerals can review catalogues of coffins, caskets and memorial stones, choose from an endless range of flowers, and consider a range of transportation and venues. Officiants by comparison tend to be assigned by the funeral arranger without the opportunity for families to view a range of profiles. The celebrants in our study represented a range of backgrounds, beliefs and specialisms – and this influenced what they offered and how they guided people. The ability for families to view a range of profiles that reflect this variation when they meet with funeral arrangers would support them to make more informed and nuanced choices of officiant. Sometimes celebrants also connected with people on broader shared interests such as football teams or locations in common. Creating profiles for funeral arrangers to present to families would allow for celebrants to present the range of interests and specialisms they represent, as well as their approach to guiding people on issues of religion and spirituality.
This would also allow religious ministers to create profiles that reflect the level of choice, flexibility and ‘degrees of religion’ that they offer.
What’s in a name?
Our research suggests that the term ‘celebrant’ and its connotations of ‘celebration’ do not always reflect what people are looking for when they arrange a funeral for a loved one. There is a need to reflect on whether there are any options for an alternative title that might better reflect the range of services that celebrants are able to be flexible to accommodate – and that people would be more comfortable to use.
Training for funeral professionals on working with people’s varied spiritual needs
There is currently no requirement for independent celebrants to undertake any training, though a range of training providers have emerged in recent years. The training provided to funeral arrangers, independent celebrants and religious ministers could be reviewed to ensure that it supports funeral professionals to navigate people’s complex and nuanced spiritual needs, beyond religious and non-religious binaries.These professionals need to remain reflexive as to the influence of their own backgrounds and beliefs on how they cater for these varied needs within the range of approaches to guiding people in relation to religious, spiritual and non-religious content in funerals. Within this, they should consider the reasons people incorporate varying levels of such content, including for their own needs as well as those of others in their families.
Training for funeral professionals on issues of diversity
Our research also found a lack of racial and religious diversity among celebrants and the funerals they officiate. Black celebrants recounted experiences of discrimination. As such, training for funeral industry professionals needs to incorporate reflection on issues of diversity and discrimination.
Further research
This latter point also links to the need for further research to explore minoritized racial, cultural and religious identities in relation to funeral practices – including consideration of funerals that are arranged outside of the mainstream funeral industry.
See our ‘resources’ section for reflective questions for specific industry professionals