In general, funeral ceremonies are not typically regulated by states, but many countries with a religious history have stricter guidelines on who can perform legal marriages.
[8][9][10] A similar network exists in Scotland, where, following a June 2005 ruling by the Registrar General, celebrants belonging to approved humanist associations have been permitted to conduct legal wedding ceremonies.
[13] In December 2014 it was reported that the Prime Minister's Office was blocking the implementation of a change to give legal force to humanist weddings in England and Wales.
Humanist celebrants are familiar with the procedures of cremation and burial, and are trained and experienced in devising and conducting suitable ceremonies.
Funeral directors are able to make arrangements with trained officiants in their local area.Humanist funerals have reportedly been held in recent years for Claire Rayner,[20] Keith Floyd,[21][22] Linda Smith,[23] Ronnie Barker,[24] Lynsey de Paul,[25] Terry Jones,[26] Victoria Wood, Doris Lessing, John Noakes, David Nobbs, Cynthia Payne, Dale Winton, and Bob Monkhouse,[27] among others.
As in Scandinavia, humanist coming-of-age ceremonies are very popular, due to secularisation and a pre-existing tradition of religious confirmation.
Even though they are not legally recognized in their own right, humanist or symbolic weddings have been celebrated in Italy for years, usually as an add-on to a civil marriage registration.
An early example was celebrated in 2002 at Burio Castle in Asti, by Vera Pegna, then deputy secretary of UAAR (Union of Rationalist Atheists and Agnostics), one of the Italian humanist organizations .
The main problem is that only some larger towns and cities provide an appropriate, officially recognized, well-equipped venue where a secular funeral can be held.
Where this is lacking, non-religious ceremonies must be held outdoors, at the burial or scattering site, or in cramped, unbefitting environments.
[42] Trained humanists celebrants are available in Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, Nigeria, Ghana, Zimbabwe, Malawi, and Sierra Leone.