Death is an experience that all humans will share, yet this experience is both deeply individual and shaped by the societies we live in. While historically religion offered a framework for understanding death and the afterlife, with the rise of nonreligion, our attitudes toward death are changing. In this episode, we learn about how obituaries have changed over time, how beliefs about the afterlife are being reshaped, and how death cafés offer places to talk intentionally about death and dying.

We hear from Chris Miller, a postdoctoral fellow with the Nonreligion in a Complex Future Project, Christel Manning, a professor of sociology at Sacred Heart University, and Martina Steiger, a death café facilitator.

For further reading on this episode, see: https://nonreligionproject.ca/episode-5-further-reading/

The Lifestances Podcast is part of the Nonreligion in a Complex Future (NCF) Project, a SSHRC-funded, international research project based at the University of Ottawa, Canada. For more on the NCF, see our website: ⁠⁠⁠https://nonreligionproject.ca/⁠⁠ ⁠

The Lifestances Podcast is hosted by Lori G. Beaman and produced by Nathan Alexander.

In the face of the environmental crisis, rethinking human relationships with the natural world is becoming more important than ever. While some religious and nonreligious narratives have placed humans on top of a hierarchy of beings, in this episode, we explore alternative ways of thinking about our relationship with the natural world.

To address these issues, we’re joined by Nancy Menning, a visiting scholar at Ithaca College, Victoria Enkvist, an associate professor of law at Uppsala University in Sweden, and Anita Krajnc, a Toronto-based activist who is the co-founder of Toronto Pig Save and the global Animal Save Movement.

The Lifestances Podcast is part of the Nonreligion in a Complex Future (NCF) Project, a SSHRC-funded, international research project based at the University of Ottawa, Canada. For more on the NCF, see our website: ⁠⁠https://nonreligionproject.ca/⁠⁠ 

The Lifestances Podcast is hosted by Lori G. Beaman and produced by Nathan Alexander.

What do you want to do with your body after death? For many people, this is a choice between cremation or casket burial. But in this episode, we learn about other options. Margit Warburg, a sociologist from the University of Copenhagen, tells us about the growing practice of forest burials in Denmark. Maria Recchia, an activist in eastern Canada, describes her efforts to introduce green burial practices in funeral homes and cemeteries. And Christian Lomsdalen, the president of the Norwegian Humanist Association, explains how he wants to be composted in his garden. 

The Lifestances Podcast is part of the Nonreligion in a Complex Future (NCF) Project, a SSHRC-funded, international research project based at the University of Ottawa, Canada. For more on the NCF, see our website: ⁠https://nonreligionproject.ca/⁠ 

The Lifestances Podcast is hosted by Lori G. Beaman and produced by Nathan Alexander.

How would you feel if – when attending a local council meeting for the first time – the meeting opened with a Christian prayer? This is the question we explore in this episode. We learn about the practice of prayers before government meetings: how widespread are these prayers and what do they consist of? We also discuss what exactly the problem is with these prayers in a diverse society, and what – if anything – should replace them.

To answer these questions, we hear from Teale Phelps Bondaroff, a municipal councillor for the district of Saanich, British Columbia, and the research coordinator for the British Columbia Humanist Association, and Eric Beresford, the priest in charge at the Church of Saint Mary Magdalene in Toronto.

The Lifestances Podcast is part of the Nonreligion in a Complex Future (NCF) Project, a SSHRC-funded, international research project based at the University of Ottawa, Canada. For more on the NCF, see our website: https://nonreligionproject.ca/ 

The Lifestances Podcast is hosted by Lori G. Beaman and produced by Nathan Alexander.

How is the shift in religious belonging shaping everyday life? In this episode of the Lifestances Podcast, we focus on two events that have traditionally been shaped by religion: marriage and death.

Brian Clarke, a historian at the University of Toronto, takes us through the dramatic changes in religious affiliation over the past few decades. Mark Allan Groleau, a marriage officiant, talks about the new rituals people are including in their weddings. And MaryPat Weber, who works in the funeral service industry, tells us about changing funeral practices that include celebrations of life that resemble cocktail parties.

The Lifestances Podcast is part of the Nonreligion in a Complex Future (NCF) Project, a SSHRC-funded, international research project based at the University of Ottawa, Canada. For more on the NCF, see our website: https://nonreligionproject.ca/ 

The Lifestances Podcast is hosted by Lori G. Beaman and produced by Nathan Alexander.