Hymns in decline at funerals

Last year Co-operative Funeralcare conducted a survey of 242 funeral homes and 30,000 services which showed 58% of people in England and Wales chose pop music to be played / sung at their funeral services and only 35% included hymns. However, the Scots are bucking this trend as more people are choosing traditional hymns: the number of funerals with hymns rose from 54% to 56% last year. The story on the BBC website also lists the top ten pop songs and hymns sung at funerals, and notes that the study also revealed that around 10% of requests for pieces of music were rejected as the clergy conducting the funeral felt the choice was inappropriate.