Funeral celebrant Australia and then in other Western countries, it was inevitable that a similar philosophical paradigm would be applied to secular funerals. A civil funeral celebrant is an individual person, quite often, but not necessarily, an authorised civil marriage celebrant, who offers to perform civil funerals in a dignified and culturally acceptable manner, for those who, for whatever reason, do not choose a religious ceremony. Civil funeral celebrants also serve people who have religious beliefs but do not wish to be buried or cremated from a church, temple or mosque. More frequently, people choose civil funeral celebrants because they wish a
Marriage in New Zealand religious body, a marriage celebrant of an approved organisation, or an independent marriage celebrant. Before 1976 there was growing dissatisfaction with the Marriage Act as it restricted people to choose between a Christian marriage that was usually performed in a church and solemnised by an Officiating Minister, or to a secular marriage in a Registry office where the number of guests was very restricted. From 1973 the Humanist Society of New Zealand lobbied the government for a change to the Marriage Act seeking the right of people to have marriage ceremonies of their choice with a celebrant of their choice