Later on today I'm headed over to a memorial for an acquaintance who passed away. What I find ironic is that he and I had a disagreement over the importance of ritual in people's lives. He was a slightly evangelical atheist and tended (as most people do) to want others to believe as he does. Nice guy and devoted to his wife, his death was a huge shock to many people, even his wife thought her declining health would cause her to be the first to go.
So I find it ironic that there is going to be a memorial, which is a ritual for the living and that it is going to be held at a church. A Unitarian-Universalist church, which does have a number of atheists as members, but still a church.
I never could convince him that not all ritual is based on religion. Just like not all spirituality is based on religion.
I expect that some people will consider this post to be insensitive, but I'm trying to pay attention to the world. I would not be surprised to run into similar situations once I become an ordained minister. I think that dealing with awkward situations is part of the job.
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