Last Rites in a Post-Communist Country. The Introduction of Civil Funeral Rites during the Communist Era and its Consequences for Contemporary Czech Society

The paper introduces the specific features of contemporary last rites in the CR. The history of cremation and the introduction of the civil funeral ceremony during the communist era are briefly mentioned since the author is convinced that current death rituals as practised by the majority of Czechs can be seen as a continuation of historical trends and a reaction to the model introduced by the communist regime which consisted of a brief secular funeral ceremony preceding cremation, a model which gradually became more and more popular during the period of communist rule. Currently, the unique situation in the CR can be summed up in three main points: the cremation rate in the CR is the highest in Europe, secular funerals are more popular than religious ceremonies and roughly a quarter of the population choose to have no funeral at all. The author closes her paper with an overview of the principal economic, psychological and social factors which lead people to choose not to have a funeral ceremony.