Lesson video

Hello there.

My name is Mr. Robertson.

And I'm delighted to welcome you to this RE lesson today.

This lesson is part of our unit entitled Memory: What Happens To Us and Our Memories When We Die?

This lesson is called Divergent Funeral Rights, and in this lesson we're going to be thinking about what happens to the body after death.

How is it treated by those who remain behind, and what beliefs might that connect to?

Can't wait to get started.

By the end of this lesson, you will be able to compare some of the key decisions made about funerals and some of the beliefs that may influence these.

We have four key words for you today.

So, our first word is buried or burial.

And by that we mean the act or ceremony of putting a dead body into a grave in the ground.

We also have the word cremated or cremation, and that means the act or process of burning something.

Next, we have the word funeral.

A funeral is a ceremony that is held when the body of someone who has died is buried or cremated.

And finally, we have the word memorial.

That's a statue or structure established to remind people of a person or event.

All these words will come up throughout our lesson today.

So, the first part of our lesson is going to focus on burials.

So, the question of death is a huge question.

One thing we know is that death is universal.

Death comes to us all.

All of us as human beings are born.

And at some point, our life will end and we will die.

And of course, marking death is something that humans have done throughout their history.

But do we all mark death in the same way?

And what sort of rituals might different communities provide?

I wonder what you know already about this from your previous learning.

You might want to take an opportunity to pause the video and think or talk to the person next to you about what you know already.

I wonder what you did know.

I wonder if there any particular religions or non-religious worldviews that you know about or things that have happened in your family, perhaps.

By examining different beliefs about death, it can help us understand how and why the body is treated differently.

And to do this, one of the methodologies we're going to use today is that of interviewing people.

Now, interviewing people is really helpful because it can help us understand why people might make choices about their loved ones when they die.

And we're gonna see that there's a variety of different viewpoints that people might have.

We're gonna start with watching a brilliant short film made by a group of social scientists.

These social scientists are interested in practices around funerals and cremation and the wider context.

And this film looks at some different practices connected to death.

It's a really beautiful film.

So, we're going to watch it now.

And as we watch it, I want you to think about some of the messages in it.

And I want you to focus on this.

What does the video say about some different practices that might happen after death and what different beliefs are they connected to?

Let's watch the video now.

(solemn curious music) <v Narrator>Death is universal.

</v> It comes to us all.

But the ways in which people deal with death are diverse.

While all societies have dedicated spaces and practices for the remains of the dead, there are differences in burial and cremation needs within different countries and communities, including secular and religious beliefs.

The same is true for funeral rituals, which mark the passing of the deceased and give comfort to the mourners.

Why does this matter?

Well, for each and every one of us, it's important to say farewell to our deceased family, friends, and community members in an appropriate way.

For those who hold religious beliefs, especially beliefs about an afterlife, funeral rituals and the treatment of the dead body are often very important.

Indeed, for some faith groups, there's a real sense of obligation to care for the dead body in very specific ways in order to ensure the wellbeing of the dead in the afterlife.

As one mourner explained, when the dead are at peace, the living have peace as well.

Some faith groups believe the soul or spirit of the dead is harmed if the burial or cremation rituals are not completed as required by their scriptures or traditions.

And this can be a cause of real anxiety for their next of kin.

And for those who have no religious beliefs, it can be important for their peace of mind and sense of self that their body is not given any religious rituals.

Examples of different requirements include prompt burial for Muslims and Baháʼís and cremation for Hindus and Sikhs.

Starting or witnessing the cremation process and the dispersal of cremated remains on moving water for Hindus.

Consecrated and non-consecrated areas in cemeteries, orienting the grave or body towards Mecca or Jerusalem, or locating the grave according to Feng Shui principles.

Some faith groups, including Jews, Muslims, Orthodox, and Roman Catholic Christians require eternal grave rights in order to ensure the long-term integrity of bodily remains.

For some, including those of faith and no faith, minimizing the environmental impact of their remains is really important.

Understanding these varied needs is important in multicultural societies.

Being inclusive of diverse needs can be challenging, but many cemetery and crematorium staff and local communities are working together to provide inclusive spaces and services for everyone.

To ensure appropriate care for the living and the dead, it's crucial to understand, respect, and provide for different local needs when planning, designing, running, and using public cemeteries and crematoria.

<v ->So, thinking about</v> that beautifully produced, brilliant animation, we're gonna have a quick check for understanding now.

What beliefs may affect how someone wants their body to be treated after they die?

Thinking about what you saw on that video, I'd like you to quickly list as many as you can.

Pause the video and good luck.

So, what did you come up with?

You may have mentioned that whether someone is religious or non-religious makes a big difference to how they might want their body treated and their beliefs.

You might have said that if someone believes in a soul and an afterlife, they may have certain practices to follow.

And we're gonna be looking in more detail in the rest of this lesson about some of these practices.

And you may have noticed as well that if someone is not religious, they may not want any religious practices.

Brilliant if you mentioned some of those things, and you may have gone into more specifics as well, in which case, fantastic.

And just another quick check for understanding.

Followers of which religious worldviews may need to be buried rather than cremated?

A, Hindus, B, Muslims, C, Roman Catholic Christians, D, Jews?

Which of those would prefer to be buried rather than cremated?

Again, pause the video and have a think.

So, actually it was B, Muslims, C, Roman Catholic Christians, and D, Jews.

Fantastic if you got that right.

So, we've looked at an introductory video about this.

We're going to look in a bit more detail about burials now.

Laura's gonna help us investigate this.

She wants to understand why some people choose burial over cremation.

So to do this, she carries out some interviews.

And Laura says, "Interviews will allow me to see similarities and differences between different people.

" She's gonna talk to Danielle, who's a Roman Catholic Christian, Victoria, who's an Orthodox Jew, and Alan who is a Humanist.

Let's start with Danielle.

Laura asks, "As a Roman Catholic, why is burial important to you?

" Danielle says, "When my granddad died, he was buried.

As a Catholic, I believe the body is sacred.

It's made in the image of God.

I believe we have an eternal soul, and also in resurrection.

I think at some point in time, God will resurrect people and unite body and soul.

Therefore, in our family, we will all be buried.

" So thinking about what Danielle said, I wonder what beliefs she has about the body and the soul, and therefore why burial is important to her.

Danielle goes on to say, "Having my grandad buried also means that I can visit his grave.

In Christian cemeteries, there is usually a headstone placed as a permanent memorial.

My family and I visit his grave regularly.

We bring flowers and use it as a time to talk to granddad about our lives.

This has helped me deal with my loss.

" We've got a still here from the video we watched earlier, and we can see the memorial.

I wonder what connections you can make between that image and what Danielle said.

She talks about the importance, doesn't she, of a permanent memorial, not one that's going to be replaced.

But she also talks that the burial and the grave plays an important role in helping her grieve and deal with her loss.

It's somewhere that she visits regularly and takes flowers and uses that at times to keep connecting with her granddad after his death.

So, we can see that burial is about beliefs, but it's also about the living, as well.

Let's check our understanding so far.

As a Roman Catholic, why was having a burial important for Danielle?

I'd like you to choose two correct answers, please.

A, she believes in the resurrection of the body.

B, she believes that humans return to nature.

C, she likes a physical place to visit regularly.

D, she believes that death is the end.

Pause the video and have a think.

What did you put?

Yes, it's A, she believes in the resurrection of the body, and C, she likes a physical place to visit regularly.

Brilliant.

As a Catholic Christian, she doesn't believe that death is the end.

She believes that humans have an eternal soul which will survive beyond death.

Brilliant if you got that right.

So, let's meet somebody else.

This is Victoria and she's Jewish.

And again, we're going to find out why burial is important to her.

Victoria says, "The Torah commands that the body should be buried after death.

It requires that the body should be buried as soon as possible; within 24 hours if possible.

In the Torah it says, 'From dust you were made and to dust you will return.

' This tells me I will return to the earth when I die.

" So, we can see that for Victoria as an Orthodox Jew, the requirements of the Torah, the sacred text, are really important.

And in the Torah it clearly commands that a body should be buried and as soon as possible.

And as well as that, it also talks about coming from dust and returning to dust.

So, this cements Victoria's beliefs and underpins her reason of a wish for burial.

Victoria goes on to say, "Jewish graves are simple as we believe we are all equal in the sight of God.

I visit my father's grave on the anniversary of his death and place a small stone on the grave.

Stones last longer than flowers and show he's always on my mind.

" And again, we have a still from that beautiful video to connect Victoria's words with a particular practice of placing a stone on a grave when visited rather than flowers.

We've got an image here, and this image was very kindly given to us by Humanists UK.

I wonder what you notice about this coffin.

You might have noticed, it's made of a beautiful material, isn't it?

It's got flowers around it and there's some hanging with fungi on it.

I wonder how you think this looks similar or different from a traditional burial or coffin that you may have seen, perhaps within your family, maybe on television.

We're gonna find out more about this.

Let's meet Alan.

And Alan is a Humanist.

He's going to talk about a recent burial funeral that he attended.

Alan says, "My friend was a Humanist.

She did not believe in an afterlife.

She wanted her funeral to be an eco burial in a woodland.

Her coffin was made of willow, a biodegradable material.

As Humanists, we believe we are part of nature.

I believe when we die, we return to the soil.

Her body and coffin will slowly return to nature.

" And again, we've got an image from the film to help connect this understanding.

So, why did Alan's friend want a funeral like that?

He talked, didn't he, about the importance of his friend wanting her funeral to be connected to nature and wanting a coffin that would biodegrade easily rather than a polished wood that might take a very long time.

And she also believes that there is no soul and no afterlife, so her body will return to nature.

Alan explains that a woodland burial is different to a traditional burial.

He says, "A woodland burial has minimal impact on the environment.

My friend wanted her funeral to be natural and to leave no trace.

During the funeral, a tree was planted at the burial site as a memorial instead of a permanent individual headstone.

Woodland burials tried to keep a beautiful, natural habitat for wildlife.

People are given GPS coordinates to find where their loved ones are buried.

So, we can see that the concept of a woodland burial is quite different in many respects to the more traditional burial in Danielle's family.

Let's just check our understanding so far.

True or false?

A woodland burial has maximum impact on the environment.

What do you think and why?

Excellent.

It's false, isn't it?

Why?

Because as we were saying, a woodland burial has a minimum impact on the environment.

It may include a coffin made from biodegradable material, which is better for the environment.

Excellent if you got that right.

So, we're gonna try and reflect on what we've learned so far about burials.

We've met three different people, and in these interviews, we've looked at some different attitudes.

Danielle as a Roman Catholic Christian, Victoria as an Orthodox Jew, and Alan as a Humanist.

Thinking about what they said, and you may want to go back and reread their interviews, I'd like you to think what was similar and what was different about their views?

What beliefs did they have?

And secondly, how did their beliefs affect why they wanted burial?

So, what is similar and different about their practices and their beliefs and how did that affect the kind of burial they wanted and why they wanted one?

Pause the video.

I really look forward to seeing what you've come up with.

Amazing work, everybody.

So, I'm sure you've got lots of things.

Here are some of my ideas.

So, you might have said that both Danielle and Victoria wanted a permanent burial site with a memorial.

You may have said that they both have a religious worldview, being Catholic Christians and Jewish, and that means that they both believe in the idea of a soul.

However, some differences were that for Victoria, in Jewish tradition, the body needs to be buried within 24 hours, whereas that isn't necessarily the case for Christians.

Both of them will have a grave and a memorial, but Jewish graves are often simpler, and stones might be added as a memorial whereas Danielle talked about leaving flowers.

But they both talked about the idea of visiting the grave and remembering somebody as well.

Now as a Humanist, Alan does not believe in a soul or afterlife.

His friend had a woodland burial which had no permanent memorial.

It was important about being natural, so people might plant trees or use GPS to mark the place of a loved one.

But again, there's this idea of connecting to the deceased.

And so the place of burial is somewhere you might want to revisit for everybody.

Brilliant if you managed to spot some similarities and differences of your own.

So, in the second part of this lesson, we're going to be looking at cremations.

Laura is reflecting on her findings so far.

She says, "I spoke to Danielle and Victoria for their views on burial.

Do they represent all Jews or Christians?

Are all Catholics or Jews buried?

How could I find out more?

" I wonder what you think about those questions.

Do you think she's right?

Was it enough to just interview Danielle and Victoria?

And how could she find out some more information to help her build up a picture?

You may have thought that whilst those interviews with Danielle and Victoria are really useful, that only represents one Catholic Christian and one Orthodox Jew.

And they can't possibly speak on behalf of all Catholics and all Jews.

To help us find out some more, we're going to be looking at cremation in a bit more detail.

Now, many religions and cultures choose to hold a cremation funeral.

By cremation we mean the act or process of burning something, like a body.

The Cremation Society collects statistics about cremation funerals, and they said that in 2024, there were 651,373 deaths in the UK.

And of those, 522,733 were given a cremation funeral.

I wonder what this statistic tells you about cremation rather than burial funerals in the UK.

Well, you may have noticed that actually the vast majority of funerals in the UK are cremations.

We can look around Europe to compare this.

So, in the UK, 80% of funerals are cremations, but in Ireland, it's only 26%.

In Denmark, it's 86%, and in Germany, it's 78%.

I wonder why Ireland might have such a lower cremation rate.

What do we know about beliefs and worldviews in Ireland?

Well, you might or might not know that about 70% of the population of Ireland identify as a Roman Catholic.

And this helps us understand Laura's findings and they help to confirm it to a certain extent, because Danielle said that Roman Catholics prefer to be buried, and in Ireland, 70% of people do get buried.

However, when we look at statistics in the UK, we find that only 30% of Roman Catholics have a burial.

But statistics gathered in 2018 suggested about 90% of Jews in the UK have a burial.

So, I wonder how these statistics compare with the case studies we looked at earlier.

Well, it's really interesting, isn't it?

Because it suggests that in a country like Ireland, which is much more culturally Roman Catholic, most people are still buried.

But in the UK, many Catholics have decided to be cremated as well.

So, things have changed there.

Whereas for Jews living in the UK, the vast majority are still buried.

So we can safely say, can't we, that nearly all Jews have burials, but actually there's much more diversity amongst Roman Catholics.

So, we can see that interviews can help us, but things are not always exactly as they seem and that there is considerable diversity amongst people with different religions and worldviews.

According to The Cremation Society, What percentage of UK funerals were cremations in 2024?

Was it A, 28%, B, 58%, C, 80%, or D, 88%?

Pause the video and have a think.

Excellent, it was A.

80% of funerals were cremations in 2024.

Brilliant, if you got that right.

In the UK, cremations are carried out at crematoriums.

And again, according to the 2024 data from The Cremation Society, there are 336 crematoriums in the UK.

We can see a photograph of a crematorium in Chichester.

I wonder where crematoriums in the UK are closest to you.

Maybe that's something you could find out about.

Now, of course, it costs money to have a cremation.

The average cost of a cremation is £966.

68.

Laura wants to find out why people might choose cremations rather than burials.

She starts by talking to Warren.

Warren is an atheist who lives in the UK.

She says, "Warren, do you know anyone who has had a cremation funeral?

" Warren says, "Yes.

When my granddad died, he had a cremation.

My family were quoted £6,200 for a burial plot.

We thought that was a lot of money to spend so opted for a cremation.

We don't believe in an afterlife, so a permanent plot was not important to us.

" So you can see, can't you, that burials are significantly more expensive than cremations.

Now for Warren's family, they didn't really mind.

They were happy to choose a slightly cheaper option because they didn't believe in an afterlife and weren't particularly bothered about having a permanent plot.

Warren explains where his granddad's ashes are stored.

He says, "After my granddad was cremated, his ashes were placed into an urn" You can see an image of an urn from the film there.

"My grandma keeps his ashes at home with her.

She said that when she dies, she would like their ashes to be scattered together.

We'll do this at the sea near them, which is where they spent their honeymoon.

" So, you can see even when people are cremated, they may not have a permanent memorial like a grave where you can visit.

But there are practices connected to the ashes that remain.

And so his grandma is keeping the ashes of her husband, his granddad, and she would like their ashes to be scattered together afterwards.

And maybe something like that has happened in your family.

But there are lots of different ways people treat the ashes because even if people don't believe in an afterlife or a soul, these are still precious.

They're still the remains of a relative and still gonna be treated with honor and care.

Here is another image from the film earlier.

I wonder what belief this might connect to.

Let's meet Priya.

Priya is a Hindu living in the UK.

She explains what her family chose when her grandma died.

Priya says, "My grandma had a cremation.

I believe that during a cremation, the atman or spirit is released from the physical body.

Turning the body to ash helps to release it from attachment to this world.

My hope is that the atman will achieve moksha and be you reunited with the ultimate reality, Brahman.

" So, let's read this carefully and I wonder what Hindu beliefs we can see about death and the body here.

So, we can see that Priya talks about her belief that the body has an atman or spirit and that on death this could be released from the physical body.

And cremating the body helps to release the body from attachment.

And one of the aims of living a Hindu life is for that atman to be reunited with ultimate reality, Brahman.

Priya explains what her family did next.

She says, "A few months after the funeral, my family and I traveled to the city of Varanasi in India.

We scattered my grandma's ashes in the sacred River Ganges.

Most Hindus believe that ashes should be scattered into moving water.

It helps us to let go and accept that person has died.

It returns the person to nature and will hopefully allow their liberation.

" So again, you might want to pause the video here and think where and why did Priya's family go after the funeral?

So, Priya talks about traveling to the sacred city of Varanasi.

Because for many Hindus, the Ganges is the most sacred river.

Scattering ashes into moving water is really important for many Hindus.

Again, there's this symbolism of allowing people to let go and returning a person to nature to allow their hopeful liberation.

Now, let's talk to Arjun.

Arjun is also a Hindu and he also lives in the UK.

He explains what his family did with his father's ashes.

He says, "Sprinkling a person's ashes into water is an important part of Hindu culture.

When my father died, we sprinkled my father's ashes into the River Soar in Leicestershire.

This river has been blessed, so it's connected to the Ganges as a sacred river.

It was a beautiful moment watching his ashes float.

We left biodegradable candles and flowers as well.

" So, what is similar and what is different about what Arjun and Priya did when their relatives died?

So, Arjun also cremated his father, but rather than traveling to India to the Ganges, he placed his father's ashes into the River Soar.

Because in the UK, that river has been blessed by Hindu priests to become sacred as well and connect it with the Ganges.

So, similar practices, but a different way of doing it.

Let's check our understanding so far.

True or false?

All Hindus scatter ashes of loved ones in the sacred River Ganges.

Pause the video and have a think and also think of the reason.

Excellent.

It's false, isn't it, but why?

Because as we saw with Priya, some Hindus may make the journey to Varanasi to scatter their ashes, but other Hindus may scatter ashes in other forms of water, such as a river or the sea elsewhere in the world.

Well done if you've got that right.

Okay, so we have learned an enormous amount today about different practices of funerals.

We've looked at some burial and some cremation practices.

On this screen now, you will see eight different stills from the film that we watched, and you may want to go back and re-watch that amazing film to help you.

I'd like you to think about all the different people we've met.

I wonder if you can think about some connections you could make between the different images to help you.

How might these images connect to each other?

What either practices or beliefs do they tell us about?

You might want to print these off and cut them out.

You may want to sketch them.

You may want to draw lines.

There are loads of different ways, or you could just talk to each other about how you could connect them.

But I'd like you to see making as many different connections as you can between the practices and beliefs that people might have about burial and cremation.

Enormous luck, everybody, and I really look forward to seeing what you come up with.

So, I wonder what connections that you made.

You may have chosen the image of the grave and thought that for some religions, such as Jews or Roman Catholic Christians, there's a preference for burial.

You may have made a connection to the Jewish grave to talk about burial within 24 hours or the clock.

You might have used those images of the gravestones to talk about the importance of a physical memorial being important to some religious traditions.

You may have looked at the image of the urn and water to talk about the fact that many Hindus believe that the body should be cremated and released into flowing water.

And this is to do with a belief in the atman being released and that water is sacred.

You may also have used that urn to talk about the fact that cremations are really popular in the UK, and that 80% of people are cremated.

You may also have used the images of the recycling and the urn to talk about, for Humanists, death being a natural process, Humanists not believing in an afterlife or soul, and seeing a body as being returned to nature.

And that Humanists or atheists might seek a natural burial or they may be happy with cremation.

And I hope you've made loads of other connections that I haven't made, as well.

Brilliant work, all of you.

So, we've learned a huge amount in this lesson, haven't we?

We've learned that the main two options for the final disposition of a body are burial or cremation.

We've learned that the funeral arrangements will commonly reflect the world views and culture of the person who's died.

We've learned that some Christians will offer a permanent memorial headstone.

Eco funerals may be chosen for minimal impact on the environment.

In the UK, cremations make up 80% of funerals.

And that most Hindus choose cremations and scatter the ashes in water or the sacred River Ganges.

Really hope that you've enjoyed this lesson.

It's made you reflect on some important ideas about humans, about our practices and our beliefs, and I look forward to seeing you in another lesson soon.

Thank you.