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Rituals surrounding Death and Grieving

Student Name

Course

Institution Affiliation

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Rituals surrounding Death and Grieving

Celebrations of notable events might vary depending on the society's culture and religious

beliefs. Many religions transcend language and culture. When working with someone with a life-

threatening disease and their family, it's critical to understand their religious beliefs. Because

Christians believe they will travel to heaven to be with the Lord after death, a funeral is both a

joyful and sad occasion for friends and family. The religion minister may join their family to

address any issues and assist in final preparations. Depending on the denomination and church,

there may well be subtle variations in customs. The church pastor will help parents cope with the

loss and plan the funeral. Friends typically send sympathy cards and flowers to the deceased's

relatives.

A Christian can be buried or cremated according to their wishes. The pastor will usually

conduct the service at the deceased's church, but it can also be done at a funeral home. The

preacher and the deceased's relatives and friends may lead hymns, speeches, and prayer. The

coffin may be present during the funeral and carried out by pallbearers, usually close family

members (Roberson et al., 2018). People can often see the departed and say their final goodbyes

before they are buried. If cremated, the ashes could be scattered. Alternatively, the ashes or

corpses will be interred in a graveyard with a gravestone. Close people may visit the grave on

festive occasions. Flowers or other memorial items are frequently placed on graves as a mark of

respect.

Daily prayers are crucial because Muslims should expect death at any moment. A dying

patient may prefer to die facing Mecca. Those that are close pray for the person using the

Muslim Koran. If no relatives, any Muslim can. Counseling or therapy is often unpopular and

viewed as an invasion of privacy (Mitima-Verloop et al., 2019). With arms over the chest and
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head towards Mecca, the deceased's eyes will be closed. Family or friends will clean the body. It

will be buried in a white shawl with prayers. Body contact with non-Muslims is forbidden.

Gloves must be worn by non-Muslims touching the body. Male employees should treat male

patients; female patients are only cared for by their fellow women (Irion, 2019). Muslims say the

soul leaves the body upon death and will be buried within 24 hours. The ceremony will include

prayers and readings from the Koran at the graveside.

Some rituals in Christianity and Islamic are the same, like in both the dead body can be

buried. In both, they accept death as the will of God. Both Christians and Islam prepare for death

and are always ready. On the other hand, there are some differences. Grief counseling is not

always warmly received by Muslims, and it may be viewed as an intrusion into one's personal

space, which is different for Christians. Christians are always open to counseling. In Christians,

anyone can wash the deceased's body, but in Muslims, only close friends and family members

can do it. Muslims are required to bury their deceased within 24 hours, although Christians are

not required to do so in the same manner. Christians allow everyone to visit the cemetery, but

only Muslim men are permitted to visit the cemetery.

  If I were to attend a Muslim burial, I would ask different questions if my friends are

receptive and learn to watch and enjoy the qualities that make us unique. The other important

thing I would do is dress in something that looks like a hijab to show my acceptance of their

culture. The other thing would be to emulate their hand placement during prayers. Studying

others can help us understand our own culture. The civilization into which we are born shapes us

all. Grief expression is as cultural as marital or religious norms or symbols.

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References

Irion, P. E. (2019). Ritual responses to death. In Living with grief: At work, at school, at

worship (pp. 157-165). Routledge.

Mitima-Verloop, H. B., Mooren, T. T., & Boelen, P. A. (2019). Facilitating grief: An exploration

of the function of funerals and rituals in relation to grief reactions. Death Studies, 1-11.

Roberson, K., Smith, T., & Davidson, W. (2018). Understanding death rituals. International

journal of childbirth education, 33(3).