Do atheists put flowers on graves?

[Milton Platt]

Obviously, some atheists do...but I don't exactly understand their reasoning behind it.

Putting flowers on, or decorating a grave, honoring the dead, paying respects to them, or even buying a nice costly tombstone for a deceased loved one, sounds more like something a person does who believes the soul of the deceased recipient of such honors or offerings, still lives on in some way or form, or benefits in some way from it...

If you are an atheist, have you ever put flowers on someone's grave, honored or paid respects to the dead, help purchase them a costly tombstone, or talked to them after their death? Were you an atheist at the time of this practice/tradition?

If you are a theist, do you ever decorate graves, leave flowers, honor, pay respects to, talk to the dead etc.?

I've spent all-nighters at cemeteries. They are one of my favorite places to visit! But in my atheist moments, didn't find any reason to do so...
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It's simply a way of remembering a loved one. Religion or the lack thereof does not necessarily come into play.

 

[dianaiad]

It wouldn't...As I said in the OP,
"Obviously, some atheists do..."

It's just, I don't quite understand the reasoning or motive behind it...

If a person doesn't believe that the soul of the deceased loved one goes on living after death...why visit their grave, talk to them, or leave flowers?

I'm not an atheist.

I believe that the spirit lives on after death.

But I don't visit my husband's grave because of that. Because of my beliefs, I understand that he's not there. His body is, but HE isn't. However, that part of him is, and his memory is with me always. So...I go there. I'll put flowers there to honor his memory.

But I'm the one doing the remembering. He's off doing something else. If he WEREN'T off 'doing something else,' he's still not in that grave. The memory is mine. So that's why I go there. That's why I bring flowers. That's why I sometimes talk to him.

Theist or A....the bit about honoring and remembering the dead is about OUR memories and how we feel. We have no clue what the dead feel, and it doesn't matter whether we think they CAN feel any more or not.

It's still about us and remembering, and honoring, those memories. Taking their lives as examples for our own.

And there is absolutely nothing whatsoever wrong, or odd, about that, no matter what one thinks about the existence of deity.

 

[Underhill]

No sarcasm.

If they passed away, why do you set flowers if not for the dead?

To make yourself and others who visit the grave/attend the funeral feel better.