Rise in number of Irish humanist ceremonies

The number of humanist ceremonies taking place in Ireland is on the rise, with more than 100,000 people attending such events last year.

But what exactly is humanism, and why is it becoming so popular?

At the most basic level, humanists are people who base their interpretation of existence on the evidence of the natural world, and not on belief in supernatural elements such as a theistic god, miracles, or an afterlife.