What happens to animals after they die? Religions and religious people express many views about an afterlife for human beings, but the issue of any kind of “afterlife” for other-than-human animals has received considerably less theological attention. This talk will raise some pertinent questions, including what we might responsibly say (and even sing) at a funeral or memorial service for a beloved companion animal.
Mary Louise (Mel) Bringle is Professor of Philosophy and Religious Studies at Brevard College, where she has taught for the past 21 years. She was honored last summer by being named a Fellow of the Hymn Society in the United States and Canada, in recognition of her work as a widely published author and translator of hymn texts, a past president of the Society, and chair of the committee that created the 2013 denominational hymnal for the Presbyterian Church (USA).
Topics: Communication, Compassion, Connection, Death and Dying, Life, Loss, Love, Perspective