Intro to funeral Services

Religion

A culturally entrenched pattern of behavior made up of: 1) sacred beliefs, 2) emotional feelings accompanying the beliefs, and 3) overt conduct presumably implementing the beliefs and feelings.

Subculture

A division, or smaller identifiable unit of a culture, connected to that culture by common traits, having unique traits to itself.

Traditional Funeral Rite

A funeral rite that follows a prescribed ritual or ceremony which may be dictated either by religious belief or social custom.

Adaptive Funeral Rite

A funeral rite that is adjusted to the needs and wants of those directly involved; one which has been altered to suit the trends of the times.

Humanistic Funeral Rite

A funeral rite that is in essence devoid of religious connotation.

Primitive Funeral Rite

A funeral rite which may be construed as being identifiable with a pre-literate society.

Obol

A gold coin of the Ancient Greeks which, according to Greek Mythology, was used to pay Charon (guardian of the Elysian Fields).

Society

A group of persons forming a single community with some interests in common.

Modified extended family

A household or family unit created by related nuclear families and/or friendships.

Ritual (Ceremony)

A kind of instrumental action dealing with death, but is also expressional - that is, it is charged with symbolic content expressing, among other things, the attitudes of the participants and possible onlookers (passive participants) who may be regarded as co- beneficiaries.

Ritual

A kind of instrumental action; but also expressional - that is, it is charged with symbolic content expressing among other things, the attitudes of the participants and possible onlookers (passive participants) who may be regarded as co-beneficiaries.

Law

A must-behavior not necessarily a basic or important pattern of a people (related to death) but one which is enforced by those governing; a rule of action prescribed by an authority able to enforce its will.

Indirect learning

A process by which a person learns the norms of his or her culture by observation of others in his or her society.

Funeralization

A process involving all activities associated with final disposition.

Anonymity A situation in which a person or entity is unknown.

A situation in which a person or entity is unknown.

Class

A social grouping in which members possess roughly equivalent culturally valued attributes.

Funeral Rite

An all-inclusive term used to encompass all funeral and/or memorial services.

Social Function

An event which allows those who have something in common with each other to deal with one-another in regard to that which they share.

Ceremony (Ritual)

An instrumental action dealing with death, that is also expressional and that may or may not be charged with symbolic content expressing, among other things, the attitudes of the participants and possible onlookers (passive participants) who may be regarded as co-beneficiaries.

Immediate Disposition

Any disposition of a human remains which is completely devoid of any form of funeral rite at the time of disposition.

Rite

Any event performed in a solemn and prescribed manner.

Symbol

Anything to which socially created meaning is given.

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.

Social Stratification

Categorization of people by money, prestige, and power; a ranking of social status (position) in groups such as upper, middle, and lower class.

Rites of Passage

Ceremonies centering around transition in life from one status to another (ex: Baptism, marriage, and the funeral).

Culture

Consists of abstract patterns (the rules, ideas, beliefs shared by members of society) of and for living and dying, which are learned directly or indirectly.

Agrarian

Dealing with agriculture, farm based. The locale of the extended (joint) family system.

Pre-Literate Society

Designating or of a culture developed before the invention of writing and, hence, leaving no written records

Ethnic

Designating or of any of the basic divisions or groups of mankind, or distinguished by customs, characteristics, language, etc.

Memorial Service

Funeral rites with the body not present.

Patriarchal

In marriage, the father rules the family, specifically in sociology, the patriarch, the father, and the ruler of the family or tribe; a man of great age and dignity; the oldest individual of a class or group.

Matriarchal

In marriage, the mother rules her family, specifically in sociology; a woman holding a position analogous to that of a patriarch.

Egalitarian

In marriage, to hold that both male and female have equal rights, duties, and governing power.

Neo-Local

In sociology, applied to an individual, family, or group which has relocated to an area other than the ancestral region.

Cultural Universal

Like abstract patterns of, and for living and dying, which are identifiable in all cultures.

Contemporary

Living or happening in the same period.

Single Parent Family

Membership consists of one adult, either male or female, and his/her children.

Blended Family

Membership consists of one male and one female and the children from their previous marriages and may include children from the present marriage.

Extended (Joint) Family

Membership within household includes father and mother, all their children (except married daughters), their son's wives and children (except married daughters).

Nuclear Family

Membership within household includes one man, one woman, and their children, if any.

Taboos

Must-behavior which dictates the individual must abstain from certain acts dealing with death.

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.

Modern

Of, or characteristic of, the present or recent times; not ancient; often used to designate certain contemporary tendencies.

Demographic

Pertaining to demography; the science of vital statistics, or of births, deaths, marriages, etc. of populations.

Funeral

Rites with the body present.

Ceremony

Similar to ritual but it may, or may not, have symbolic content.

Customs

Social behavior as dictated by the tradition of the people.

Industrialization

Specifically in sociology, the change from independent multi-talented, self-sufficient family units to employment of family members in jobs outside the unit, making them dependent on outside resources for their total needs.

Rules

Specified methods of procedure.

Direct learning

The acquiring of the culture by a person through deliberate instruction

Urbanization

The change from rural to urban in character; to make like or characteristic of a city.

Cultural Relativism

The emotional attitude that all cultures are equal and pertinent.

Ethnocentrism

The emotional attitude that one's own race, nation, group, or culture is superior to all others.

Family of Procreation

The family established by one's marriage and the production of children.

Family of Orientation

The family into which one is born.

Enculturation (Socialization)

The method by which the social values are internalized (learned).

Socialization

The method by which the social values are internalized (learned).

Socialization (Enculturation)

The method by which the social values of the funeral rite are internalized (learned).

Mobility

The state of being mobile; specifically in sociology, the ability to move from place to place readily, or to move from class to class, either upward or downward.

Sociology

The study of social groups; their internal forms or modes of organization, the processes that tend to maintain or change these forms of organizations, and the relations between groups.

Bureaucratization

The tendency of governments to refine their procedures to ever more efficiently attain their goals through the creation of a system of departments and subdivisions managed by sets of officials following an inflexible routine.

Neo-localism

The tendency of off-spring to move away from the area in which they were born. Non-traditional Funeral Rite A funeral rite which deviates from the normal or prescribed circumstances of established custom.

Social mobility

The upward or downward movement of a person or family within the social classes of their society.

Primitive Funeral Rites

Those which may be constructed as being identifiable with a preliterate influence, which predominates the funeral rite.

Cohabitants

Two unrelated adults of the opposite sex sharing the same living quarters.