Theos Report on Dying, Death, and the Afterlife

A new report from Theos has been published:

Marianne Rozario and Lia Shimada with contribution from Wendy Appenteng Daniels and Simon Perfect, Ashes to Ashes: Beliefs, Trends, and Practices in Dying, Death, and the Afterlife (London: Theos, 2023).

Some paragraphs from the Theos website:

‘Practices around death and dying are changing rapidly. In particular, as the UK becomes less traditionally religious, there are growing preferences for cremation over burial and a rise of “celebrations of life” over traditional funerals. However, there still exists a wide range of religious and spiritual beliefs surrounding death and the afterlife…

‘In light of this changing picture, Theos and the Susanna Wesley Foundation investigated current trends on, and attitudes towards, dying, death, and the afterlife in the UK, and explored the role of churches and faith communities…

‘We found continued shared concerns around what makes a “good death”, including no pain/suffering, being surrounded by family/at home, peace/reconciliation, and preparedness, but a wide range of religious and spiritual beliefs desired in memorialisation practices and when contemplating the afterlife. 

‘While the religious landscape is changing, churches and faith communities have an important role to play in offering both pastoral care and theological accompaniment to the dying and the bereaved.  There is a challenge and an opportunity for churches and faith communities to (re)claim their role – to re–weave religion and death.’

More information can be found here, a video introduction here, and a pdf of the full report is available here.