Christian rituals related to death did not begin at the funeral service. Dying itself was surrounded by many Christian rites. During the Reformation, Protestants' sharp attacks on the medieval beliefs in purgatory and intercession for the deceased eventually shifted attention in the modern world away from a preoccupation with death to a widespread ignoring of the reality of death.
Death in Human Cultures
Rituals are formative experiences-the means by which a community expresses for itself...
Â
The rest of this article is available with your subscription.