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Religion, Culture and Death

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Religion, Culture, and Death

The five religions discussed during this week’s seminar have many similarities, and just as many differences, in relation to their specific views on death, dying, bereavement and grieving. Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism all contain their own system of beliefs and traditions that members use in order to deal with impending death.
Judaism is the oldest of the three monotheistic religions that stems from the Middle East and follows the teachings of Abraham and Moses. Judaism believes that death was a direct consequence of Adam and Eve eating from the forbidden “Tree of Conscience” (Leming, 2011). There are several branches of Judaism throughout the world: Orthodox Judaism, Hasidism, Neo-Orthodox Judaism, Reform Judaism, Conservative Judaism, and Reconstructionist (Wilkinson, 2008). All of these sects of Judaism can have very different traditions in regard to the treatment of the deceased’s body. Under the old Jewish tradition, the body of the deceased must be buried as soon as possible after death, within twenty-four hours if possible, although the burial cannot happen on the Sabbath. Before burial, the body is washed, anointed with oils and spices, and dressed in a white linen sheet after which it is buried in Jewish consecrated ground. More contemporary Jews are more likely to choose cremation over burial. Jews have a multi-tiered morning practice. For the first seven days after the death of a loved one, “close relatives sit at home to observe the period of mourning known as Shiva” (Pollock, 2008, p. 107). During this week they are not allowed to leave the house of do any type of work. Friends and extended relatives may visit the family during this time to pay their respects and bring gifts of food to sustain the family during their time of grief. For eleven months following

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