Spirituality in Contemporary Funerals
What the research is about?
This project reflects the growing interest in spirituality which
we are seeing in society generally and the changing shape of modern
funerals. We are interested, for example, to see what the
‘spiritual' content of a so-called ‘alternative' funeral on the one
hand and a traditional Christian or Buddhist ceremony might be; how
people, as individuals and communities, express their
spiritual feelings and beliefs and the meanings they attach to
particular practices and symbols.
Why is it important?
It will contribute to knowledge and theory in a changing field
which is also of increasing public concern. It will also assist in
refining the practical responses of professionals involved with
mourners, and with dying and bereaved people in their creation of
ceremonies and rituals which help people in their bereavement.
What it involves?
The project began on 1 October 2008 and is funded by the Arts
and Humanities Research Council. Ethical approval has been obtained
from the Department of Social Sciences Research Ethics Committee
and the project satisfies the requirements of the AHRC. We
ourselves as researchers have both practical experience and
academic expertise in this field. Subject to gaining the informed
consent of all participants, we will first attend the meeting of
the funeral director with the family when arrangements for the
funeral are discussed. Then we will observe about fifty funerals of
different types. At a suitable time after the funeral (perhaps one
week) we will interview one or more family members about why they
chose the funeral they did, the meaning it had for them and how it
helped them with their loss. Finally, having analysed the funerals
and family interviews, we propose to interview a sample of funeral
directors and celebrants to obtain their views on emerging
themes.
How will the results be published?
We hope that the general results of the research will be
interesting to a wide variety of people. We hope also that there
will be practical benefits for professionals involved in the
planning and conduct of funerals, whether as a funeral director or
celebrant or a health-care professional working with people
who are dying and their families. We plan to publish articles in
various journals, including those of the funeral industry, various
religious ministries and social and health care. We emphasise,
however, that the anonymity of all the families and interview
participants will be maintained and names will not appear in any
publication. Great care will be taken to ensure that no
family or individual is identifiable in the research. Any
family or interviewee can withdraw from the research at any time
and all information about them will then be destroyed
immediately. Information about identities of those taking
part in the research will be kept secure by the researchers and
will be destroyed twelve months after the research is
completed.
If you would like more information about this research, please
contact any of the research team at email addresses listed below or
phone Sue Adamson on
01482 466237. If you would like to participate actively in the
project, please contact Sue Adamson .
Research Team Contact Details:
Research Team
-- Project Advisory Group
-- Spirituality in Contemporary Funerals -- Final
Report July 2010
Music chosen for the
funerals
Contact Details
Department of Social Sciences
Wilberforce Building
Faculty of Arts and Social
Sciences
The University of Hull
Cottingham Road
HULL
HU6 7RX
Tel: 01482 465338/6237
Fax: 01482 465705/466088
