The Humanist Society: Serving non-religious folk here more actively
Humanist Society has evolved since starting out in 2010 and aims to meet rising demand for officiants, celebrants
Humanist Society head Tan Tatt Si spraying holy water on one-year-old Julian, who is carried by his mother Andrea Savage, in a godparent naming ceremony last month. Ms Savage and her husband Cameron Richards (extreme right in blue), an Australian couple based here, had asked Mr Tan to conduct the ceremony. Ms Savage was brought up Catholic while her husband is an atheist.PHOTO: TAN SER JAY - THELOOK.SG
PUBLISHED SEP 26, 2016, 5:00 AM SGT
Melody Zaccheus
Over the past two months, Mr Tan Tatt Si, head of Singapore's Humanist Society, has played the role of celebrant and officiant, respectively, at a wedding and a godparent naming ceremony of two non-religious couples.
At the wedding last Tuesday, Mr Tan held a candle-lighting ceremony and a "warming of rings" ritual for the newlyweds. In the rings ritual, the couple's wedding bands were passed around for guests to "bless" with congratulatory words and positive declarations.
While some of the rituals might take inspiration from the religious and cultural backgrounds of the people involved, most of the events are designed to be "human- centric celebrations", said Mr Tan.
The Humanist Society, officially set up in 2010 to represent Singapore's non-religious population, has evolved to serve this community more actively, its treasurer Zheng Huifen, 34, told The Straits Times.
http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/group-serving-non-religious-folk-here-more-actively
