Non-Religious Memorial Guide

Planning a service with no religious requirements gives you real flexibility, but that flexibility can also make it harder to know where to start. This guide covers the general shape of what's typically involved.

Timeline

There's no religious requirement dictating timing, so the schedule is entirely up to the family, driven by practical factors like travel for family and friends, funeral home and venue availability, and how much planning time feels right. Many families hold a service within one to two weeks of death, though there's no rule requiring this.

Common formats

• Celebration of life: an increasingly common format, generally less formal than a traditional funeral, focused on remembrance and sharing stories rather than ritual or liturgy. Can be held at a funeral home, a family home, a park, a restaurant, or nearly any venue.
• Traditional-format secular service: some families prefer the structure of a traditional funeral (viewing, service, committal) without religious content, replacing scripture or liturgy with readings, music, or personal reflections that reflect the person's life and values.
• Direct cremation or direct burial with no formal service: some families choose to forgo a formal gathering altogether, sometimes holding an informal remembrance later.
• Humanist or secular officiants: some families choose to work with a professional secular or humanist celebrant to help structure and lead the service, similar to how a religious officiant would, but without religious content.

What to tell the funeral home

• That you're not planning a religious service, so they don't default to offering denomination-specific options that don't apply.
• Whether you'd like help finding a secular celebrant or officiant, since many funeral homes maintain a list of both religious and non-religious options.
• What format you're leaning toward (celebration of life, traditional-format secular service, or no formal service), since this affects venue and planning.
• Any specific music, readings, or personal elements you'd like incorporated.

Typical cost components

Costs vary widely based on format: a direct cremation with no service is generally the lowest-cost option, while a fuller celebration of life with catering, venue rental, and printed materials can add up. The National Funeral Directors Association's most recent published national medians (2023) were $8,300 for a funeral with viewing and burial and $6,280 for cremation, useful national reference points, though a simple direct cremation or direct burial without additional services is typically well below both figures. Ask for an itemized quote. See our questions to ask.

Next: Questions to ask a funeral home · Paying for a funeral · The first 24 hours

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