Year 11 - Religious education
Christian and humanist funerals
Issues of life and death
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Study Guides
This pupil-friendly study guide includes a unit summary, clear notes, common mistakes, and quick questions with answers.
Unit Summary
In this unit pupils will focus firstly on the relationship between religion and science - looking at ideas of creation. They will examine how Christians and non-religious people view the world. Finally they will examine how people speak about the sanctity of life.
Lesson Summary
You will learn to explain Christian and humanist funeral practices and the meanings behind them.
Key Notes
- Funerals are ceremonies before a burial or cremation that honour the deceased and support those in mourning.
- Durkheim saw them as vital for social unity, offering structured grief and reinforcing shared beliefs.
- Christian funerals usually include prayers, readings, and a committal at the final resting place, with some variations.
- Catholics pray for the soul, Quakers opt for silence, and Pentecostals incorporate music and worship.
- Humanist funerals, being secular, celebrate the deceased's life and relationships with eulogies and meaningful readings.
Vocabulary To Learn
- afterlife: what follows the physical life on earth; belief in life after death
- ceremony: a formal event or ritual held to mark a significant occasion
- eulogy: a speech given to honour and remember someone
- funeral: a ceremony marking a person's death which takes place before burial or cremation; family and friends gather to honour the deceased and support one another
- readings: passages of text read aloud during an event to convey a message, offer reflection, or provide comfort
Common Mistakes To Avoid
- Funerals are always religious ceremonies.
3 Quick Questions (With Answers)
1. Explain the lesson in two key points.
Funerals are ceremonies before a burial or cremation that honour the deceased and support those in mourning. Durkheim saw them as vital for social unity, offering structured grief and reinforcing shared beliefs.
2. What does this key word mean in this lesson? 'afterlife'
what follows the physical life on earth; belief in life after death.
3. Correct this common mistake.
Mistake: Funerals are always religious ceremonies. Correction: Funerals are not always religious. Many, like humanist funerals, focus on remembering the deceased without religious rituals. They bring people together and provide a structure for grief.
More Lessons In This Unit
- Christian and non-religious beliefs about creation Study Guide
- Christian attitudes to human life Study Guide
- Christian beliefs about death and the afterlife Study Guide
- Contrasting views on abortion Study Guide
- Contrasting views on euthanasia Study Guide
- Dominion, stewardship and environmental responsibility Study Guide
- Non-religious attitudes to human life Study Guide
- Non-religious beliefs about death and the afterlife Study Guide
Browse all guides in the Year 11 Religious education guide library.