Funerals and Funeralization in Major Religious Traditions

A funeral is a service marking a person's death. It is highly idiosyncratic, involving diverse customs, social statuses, beliefs, and practices used by religions or cultures to remember the dead. Funerals, derived from the Latin funus, are social and commercial events. Funerals involve an array of services as part of the process of paying final tribute to the dead.

Funeralization involves planning, implementing, and directing a funeral and burial according to the social, psychological, and religious needs of the deceased. The last step of funeralization is monument selection. Rituals, customs, prayers, eulogies, and often elaborate grave markers are employed to honor the dead. Historically, final tributes to the dead are found at ancient Neanderthal gravesites in France, India's mausoleum the Taj Mahal (an emperor's 1648 grief-stricken tribute to his dead wife), and Italy's famous 1469 relic of Saint Catherine's head preserved on a marble altar at the Chapel of Saint Catherine of Siena.

Along with industrialization, the increasing secularization and commercialization have changed the funeralization process. In America, this change evolved from simple burials to elaborate commercialization of death involving mummification, high-cost casket and vault display rooms, and a variety of buying options. Being funeralized is important in black American culture, with poor families spending more time and money than other ethnic groups on the dead. Throughout history there have been significant changes in funeralization leading to interesting and diverse practices.

Bahá'í Funerals

The Bahá'í faith is the newest world religion. A Bahá'í is a follower of the 19th-century “Manifestation of God” named Bahá'u'lláh, whose writings outline the Bahá'í teachings on death, burial, and afterlife. Known for its simplicity and dignity, the Bahá'í faith avoids funeral customs and rituals associated with older religions. Elected local spiritual assemblies (nine people) assist families with weddings, funerals, and other community [Page 500]business. Bahá'u'lláh said death is a joyous event, a gateway to an afterlife. Heaven and hell are conceptualized as spiritual conditions, a continuum of varying degrees of closeness (heaven) and remoteness (hell) to God.

The deceased should be wrapped in five silk or cotton sheets; a single sheet of either fabric is sufficient for those from less affluent families. A Bahá'í burial kit contains 9 yards of very soft fabric (e.g., 100#x0025; natural silk or 100#x0025; pure cotton) cut into five pieces, the Bahá'í burial and the Bahá'í funeral service booklet, a small bottle of rose water, and a Bahá'í burial ring (with the inscription “I came forth from God and return unto Him, detached from all save Him, holding fast to His name, the Merciful, the Compassionate”) placed on the deceased's finger.

The Bahá'í faith tries to avoid commercialized and materialistic funerals or memorial services. First, the burial ring is placed upon the dead person's body, which should not be transported more than 1 hour's journey from the place of death. Second, cremation or embalming is not permitted. Bodies should be treated with dignity and buried simply or donated to science. Third, funerals are absent of rituals or clergy, and typically are simple events. Funerals consist of the reading of prayers and other material pertaining to death and the afterlife from Bahá'í scripture. Services involve singing, music, and a eulogy. The only requirement is that the “Prayer for the Dead” (revealed by Bahá'u'lláh) be read by one believer. Prayers and readings are usually said at gravesite services. Bahá'í grave markers have nine-pointed stars or rosettes (the number nine is associated in the Arabic language with the name Bahá'u'lláh) with the word Bahá'í in the center and all other wording as desired.

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