Funeral celebrant Funeral celebrant Funeral celebrant is a formal term denoting members of a group of non-clergy professionals who are committed to preparing and delivering high quality funeral ceremonies, which are not closely linked to any religion or to belief in an after-life. The concept of funeral celebrants is analogous in Western countries to that of civil celebrants (for marriages). It began in Australia in 1975. On 19 July 1973 the Australian attorney-general Lionel Murphy had appointed civil marriage celebrants with the aim of creating ceremonies of substance and meaning for non-church people. As secular (civil) marriage ceremonies became accepted, first in
Celebrant (Australia) by the relevant government to perform legal civil marriages in a dignified and culturally acceptable manner, for those who do not choose a religious ceremony. Civil celebrants also serve people who have religious beliefs but do not wish to be married in a church, temple or mosque. In contrast to the established ceremonies of religious or registry office authorities, in celebrant ceremonies many decisions about the content are chosen by the couple. Therefore, the civil celebrant has come to be defined as a professionally trained ceremony-provider who works in accordance with the wishes of the client couple. The task may