Christian thinktank Theos have released yet another survey on British attitudes glossed with their own idiosyncratic interpretation of the results. This time Theos have focused on the subject of death. Theos’ interpretation of their results implies that British society is unusually scared of death and dying and that more “religious narrative” would help to solve the problem.
This is despite the fact that when evaluating the statement “The religious faith I have helps me deal with the death of a loved one or prepare me for my own death” more people answered ‘No’ than ‘Yes’.
“Oddly, there was no ‘Not applicable’ category for responses to that question,” said the BHA’s Education and Public Affairs Officer, Andrew Copson. “However, even with the loaded phrasing, only 30% agreed that their religion helped them cope with death. 38% actively disagreed with the statement and the rest didn’t know or could not answer.
Theos highlight their finding that “37% of people say that they would like a Christian funeral compared with 17% saying a non-religious one”. However, there is a great disparity by age. Respondents were closest in their choices between the ages of 25-34 where 28% said they would like a Christian funeral and 23% said they would like a “non-religious funeral, without any references to God included”.
The survey also asked people to evaluate the statement “I have made my peace with God” in the context of making arrangements for their own death. Only 21% said they had done so, while 30% of responses were categorised as ‘Not applicable’ and a further 8% refused to answer the question.
Andrew Copson responds, “Theos mysteriously did not comment on the survey responses to the wider ethical issues relating to death. The great majority of responses to these ethical issues ran contrary to the views of institutional Christianity and instead were in favour of positions advocated by the British Humanist Association. 60% of respondents were in favour of legal assisted dying (only 13% outright disagreed) and 52% opted for the presumed consent of organ donation (29% disagreed).”
Theos present their findings as showing that “50% of Britons admit to fearing the process of dying”. However, only 20% of respondents affirmed the statement “I fear both the way I will die and death itself”. For many there was no fear of either death or dying (25%) or they affirmed that “I fear the way I will die but not death itself” (30%). So for the majority of the respondents (55%) the state of death itself is not something they fear.
The BHA’s Head of Humanist Ceremonies, Tana Wollen, said, “I don’t think there’s anything as gloomy or surprising about these results as Theos tried to imply. There was no attempt to measure how much people feared the process of dying, only whether they did, therefore the result that only half the population profess having some concerns about how they might die is perhaps surprisingly low. Meanwhile more than half aren’t worried about the state of being dead at all.
“Of course death is a huge concern for many people and this should not be downplayed. And of course some people can indeed benefit from talking more about it.
“However it’s a gross exaggeration to suggest that there is some dire social warning contained in these survey results which can only be explained by “the breakdown of an overarching religious narrative in the culture”, as Theos’ Paul Woolley argues.
“In fact, on the contrary, the results show that more than half the population are not preoccupied or fearful about the state of death and it’s not remotely surprising that people sometimes worry about the possible circumstances of how they will die.
“Amongst younger and middle-aged respondents about one in five wanted a non-religious funeral and younger people were also more likely to say their family or friends should decide what kind of funeral to organise. None of this signals any kind of crushing angst brought on by lack of religion.
“Humanist Ceremonies is the BHA’s network of humanist celebrants who provide funeral ceremonies for the increasing number of people who approach the big questions of life and death without any reference to religion. One of the most common reasons that people have for choosing a humanist ceremony for themselves or a loved one is their dissatisfaction with religious funerals that fail to reflect the uniqueness of the person who has died.
“Humanists believe we have only this one life, so, for humanists death is less important than the life we live, how we live it and the legacies we leave behind for others.”
Notes
Humanist Ceremonies™ is the BHA’s network of trained and accredited Humanist celebrants throughout England and Wales. Each of the ceremonies we conduct is unique, created specially for the people involved and based on shared human values with no dependency on religion or superstition.
The British Humanist Association (BHA) is the national charity representing and supporting the non-religious and campaigning for an end to religious privilege and discrimination based on religion or belief. The BHA contributes to debate on a wide range of ethical issues from stem cell research to sex education, and acts as a unique watchdog and lobbying organisation.
Read a range of approaches and perspectives in the collection Thinking About Death based on the 2003 Humanist Philosophers’ Group Conference. Edited by Peter Cave and Brendan Larvor the contributors include Anthony Flew, John Harris, Suzanne Uniacke and Adam Smith, who explore the questions humanists – and others – ask about death and dying. Postage on this item is currently free.
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