Pet Funerals — Do Animals have Immortal Souls?
This morning’s Guardian Page 3 feelgood story was a nice little tale of an adopted cat, well worth a read:
I haven’t yet been asked to take a funeral for an animal and my first reaction to the idea was the that it would be something that I would politely decline. Then I began to think about how I might approach the writing of the ceremony and finally, I started to take the idea seriously. I can see how it would work.
The article was an interesting read because tucked in, alongside the ‘Ahhh! How sweet…’ bits and the nod to a royal connection — yes, there’s something for everyone in The Guardian! — there were allusions to church politics, social commentary, capitalist exploitation and even a terrorism reference.
Church politics and schisms are always a fascinating notion, although it had been glossed over by the cathedral in question, it raised a similar issue to something that had struck me — Do animals have immortal souls? A question with an obvious answer to anyone who is deeply attached to their pet.
As a Humanist, the question of immortal souls doesn’t need an answer either but for animals, it’s something that the church has wrestled with for centuries. I remember vividly a discussion that we had in the sixth form whilst on a field trip in Scotland. I still held onto a religious belief at that time, whilst already being a rationalist. One of our biology teachers was a fundamentalist Christian, which came as a surprise to all of us as he had given no hints, previously during lessons.
The question of animals having souls was raised and the teacher in question stated quite definitely that it could not be possible as there simply would not be enough room in heaven for all of them. As argumentative seventeen-year-olds, we immediately saw the flaw: if you have suspended rational thought sufficiently to imagine that there can be a heaven, then it is only the tiniest further step to imagine that such a place could be infinite and thus be able to accommodate every living thing ever created and yet to be.
So, would I take a funeral for a pet? The answer is yes.
A pet can be just as much of a family, sometimes more so, as any other member of a household. For many, it is the only other member of their household. They have an unique position in people’s lives and their loss can be devastating. That is no different from any other bereavement.
A funeral is for the living, not for the dead. That is why the argument of the souls of animals is irrelevant and it is why I would be pleased to be asked to take one.
Preparing it would take a little while, until I got the wording exactly right but I can see how it would work. In all honesty, I wouldn’t be able to charge the full fee that I ask for a standard funeral but it would be an interesting experience. (Unless of course it is on the scale in the photograph!)
