Deathscaping nonreligion: negotiations of social space in contemporary Finland

This article examines how nonreligious death practices are spatially and socially negotiated in contemporary Finland. Drawing on qualitative interviews with 16 experts, including funeral professionals, secular activists, and religious actors, the study explores how individuals and institutions navigate death in a Finnish society. The analysis identifies how nonreligious death practices emerge through negotiations across four fields: Legal-Institutional, Church-Affiliated, Religion-Critical and Value-Driven. Findings reveal that while formal legislation guarantees freedom of religion and worldview, in practice, nonreligious individuals often encounter spatial and institutional barriers that require negotiations, as burial infrastructure remains largely under the control of the Evangelical Lutheran Church. The study contributes to the sociology of religion and death studies by proposing the concept of deathscaping as an analytical lens for understanding how death practices are shaped through spatial and social processes in plural societies.