Life Stories: Introduction

Humanists believe that this is the one life we have, we don’t get another one after it. So it’s essential that we make the most of this one life. We don’t go through life alone, other people are very important to us. It’s often the experiences that we share that bring meaning and structure to our lives. This week we’ll learn about what happens at humanist ceremonies and we’ll use that as a way to explore the humanist approach to life. We’ll look at how

humanists might mark three major milestones: Birth, marriage and death. So how do humanist ceremonies reflect the belief that we need to make the most of the one life we have? What happens at a humanist wedding? How are they made meaningful for the couple? And what’s the focus of a humanist funeral, given that humanists don’t believe that we have another life after this one? To help you explore some of these questions, we’ll meet humanist celebrants who are responsible for conducting naming ceremonies, weddings and funerals. We’ll find out what motivates them to do what they do, and through their stories we’ll learn how humanist ceremonies can give us an insight into the humanist approach to life more generally.

Hopefully by the end of the week you’ll have developed an understanding of what it might mean to a humanist to live a good life.