Recently I attended an event hosted by members of the Hindu community, at which I met one of my constituents. It was whilst there that an issue was raised, one which I had neither encountered myself nor considered as a legislator. This was access to religiously appropriate funerary services.
They highlighted that frequently the needs of the Hindu community are not met by regular crematoria, due to the lack of facilities and flexibility to accommodate religious rituals such as prayers, meditation, and the opportunity to perform final rites with dignity. Looking deeper into this and speaking to more constituents, I found that similar issues were prevalent in Muslim and Jewish communities where requirements for rapid burials were made difficult by limited access to religiously appropriate facilities.
It struck me that this is part of a larger conversation which has come to the forefront of political life in recent months, the treatment of individuals at the end of life. Kim Leadbeater’s private members bill shone a spotlight on how we treat those in their final days of life and created a great deal of discussion both within, and outside of parliament. What wasn’t discussed though, was how we treat those after their death.
In Britain, funerals have historically been built around either Christian or secular arrangements. These traditions place relatively few specific demands on crematoria and rarely demand adherence to a strict schedule. Services are often brief, standardised, and shaped more by administrative convenience than by religious obligation. But for a growing proportion of our population, this model does not fit.
The reality is that in Britain we have a changing population, becoming more diverse. Which is a good thing. Minority faiths have grown year on year for decades yet in many cases the services in their local areas haven’t reflected this shift. Leaving them feeling outside of their wider community at a moment of vulnerability. Unable to carry out their ancient and cherished traditions.
By denying people the ability to honour their loved ones according to their traditions we send a message. While unintended, it tells people that their ways of life and death are less important than established services. This undermines our efforts to integrate people into British society, something vital to creating a cohesive and trusting communities.
This is not about asking the wider society to bend to the needs of a minority, it is about making practical, proportionate adjustments that allow people to practise their beliefs with dignity. By improving access to out-of-hours coroner services, we can meet the needs of communities with specific burial requirements while also ensuring that urgent cases more generally are dealt with in a timely and organised way. Similarly, by ensuring crematoria are designed with sufficient space to accommodate the larger gatherings that accompany certain traditions, we can give families the chance to honour their relatives with the funeral they deserve.
I believe that, at its core, Britain is a tolerant and diverse country. We have a history of immigration, and we see the benefits of it in our NHS, in our services, and notably in our end-of-life home care. However, to be a truly tolerant society is about more than just accepting difference is present, it is about ensuring that vital public facilities don’t just cater to the majority but that they cater to everyone. If this means making reasonable and practical adjustments, then I believe most of our civic society are more than happy to see this.
I have said multiple times that how we treat people at the end of their life is a reflection of our society, but the truth is it extends beyond our final days and into death. Our ability to honour peoples lives in a way that fits with their traditions is vital, and ensuring that grieving families can say goodbye to their loved ones reflects our compassion as a society. It is in these moments of vulnerability that compassion matters most. If we are serious about building a cohesive society in which everyone feels they belong, then we must ensure that the final rites of life are afforded the dignity, respect, and equality that every family deserves.
A cohesive society includes respecting the final rites of life and ensuring access to religiously appropriate funeral services
