Introduction%20to%20Funeral%20Service

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Introduction to Funeral Service
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Thanatology

• the study of death and death-related phenomena
  (Corr, Nabe, Corr 1996)
• Thanatos Greek God of Death
• Ology the study/science of

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Sociology

• the science of social groups the processes that
  tend to maintain or change these forms of
  organizations and the relations between groups
  and individuals

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Mores and Folkways

• Mores must-behavior the basic and important
  patterns of ideas and acts of a people as related
  to treatment of the dead, which calls for a
  strong reaction from the society if violated
• Folkways behaviors which are construed as
  somewhat less compulsive than mores of the same
  society, and do not call for a strong reaction
  from the society if violated

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Customs

• social behavior as dictated by the tradition of
  the people

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Common Beliefs in American Society

• life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness
• equality before the law
• freedom of selection
• common school education
• decent burial

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• Why should funeral service students study
  Thanatology and Sociology?

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The American National Character

• Family Structure
• Religion
• Government
• Economics
• Age
• Educational Level
• Mobility

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Basic American Customs in Funeral Service Today

• Funeral Home
• Embalming
• Viewing
• Funeral Director
• Credit
• Disposition
• Rites and Ceremonies

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Cultural Universal

• like abstract patterns of and for living and
  dying, which are identifiable in all cultures
• announcement of the death
• care of the deceased
• method of disposition
• ceremony or ritual
• memorialization