Funeral celebrant out for commentary two celebrants he considered outstanding, Brian McInerney and Rick Barclay. International acknowledgment was provided by a comprehensive article in Time Magazine (September 2004) reporting that in the "liberal" cities of Melbourne (Australia) and Auckland (New Zealand) civil celebrants "conduct substantially more than half of the funerals." It reported that before 1973 only clergy funerals were available to the general public in Australia and New Zealand. The article describes celebrant funerals as "intimate and personalised". But it also cited an alternative point of view by atheist sociologist Mira Crouch who stated that celebrant funerals were "mawkish and sentimental".
Swedish Humanist Association Swedish Humanist Association The Swedish Humanist Association (, "the Humanists") is the largest humanist/rationalist organisation in Sweden with over 5,300 members. It is a member organisation of the International Humanist and Ethical Union (IHEU). The SHA works for a secular life stance founded on reason, compassion and responsibility. Its goals include a completely secular society, free of religious oppression, discrimination and other infringements on human rights. The SHA also promotes science as the primary method for finding answers to empirical questions, staunchly opposing for instance pseudoscience. The SHA is the fastest growing humanist organisation in the world, having increased its