The positive function of funerals- test 3 Flashcards
- Visitation of the deceased
- The rite of passage
- A funeral procession
- Disposal of the body
- The commitment of death
5 elements of the contemporary American funeral
The community’s opportunity to express sympathy and support for the bereaved.
Visitation of the deceased
A ritual to address the needs of the mourners; a religious orientation for 75% of them. (Rando)
The rite of passage
A parade to the cemetery symbolizing the living transporting the deceased to the land of the dead, then returning to the land of the living to reestablish themselves without the loved one.
A funeral procession
A symbol of the survivors’ emotional separation from the deceased.
Disposal of the body
Committing to the loved one’s body to its final resting place. (Raether and Slater)
The commitment to death
The primary purpose of a funeral is embedded in this for both the deceased and the bereaved.
- During the service- the deceased is symbolically transferred from his or her surviving social community to the afterlife
- Then physically placed in the land of the dead through burial or cremation
- For the bereaved - the funeral is the initial step toward separation from the deceased - the beginning of the grief process and the reestablishment of a place in the social community without the loved one.
Rite of passage
- Held as an affirmation of the dead person’s life
- Validate life itself
- Act as a testimony to one’s existence
- Assure the survivors that their own lives will be honored as well- they will not have lived in vain.
- Last chance to publicly recognize the deceased, pay their respects, and spend a final, personal movement with their loved ones.
- This is primarily for the living, to meet specific needs of the bereaved, and, in a larger sense, address society’s need to confirm the value of life.
Funeral
