The decline of funeral services and mourning customs in America could be attributed to many different occurrences that have taken place in our society in the past several decades. American culture and society are very different today than they were a century ago or even 30 years ago!

    One reason for this decline could be because the cremation rates in America have risen. Many people choose cremation because they feel that it is less of a burden, especially if they opt for direct cremation without a service. When someone dies, many people must take time away from their jobs and home lives to attend the funeral and services. I think that many modern people feel that it is unnecessary to trouble others with these details.

    Another reason is the decrease in the number of people who hold strong beliefs towards a particular faith. This occurrence has been blamed (and debated) for the decline of many other aspects in American society as well. In centuries past, many Americans associated their beliefs with the Christian church. Today however, it seems that fewer people are attending church and some do not even profess a belief in a higher power. Traditionally, most funeral services are tied to the customs and traditions of a particular faith. If fewer people have a belief in a certain faith, it seems natural that fewer people would opt to have funerals that are linked to any religious belief.

    Viewing and visitation often give closure to those in mourning. Sometimes it is impossible for the loved one to accept the fact that the death has occurred without viewing the body. Viewing also gives the grieving family a feeling of peace. Often the deceased looks so much better after the embalming and cosmetic procedures have been preformed, especially if the death was the result of some sort of trauma or illness.

    Personally I believe that visitation and viewing are the most emotionally healing events following the passing of a family member or friend. Some sort of closure, no matter how small it is, really does give a person a sense of relief and a feeling of peace. "The Handbook of Psychiatry”, which was published in 1974, defines grief as "...the normal response to the loss of a loved one by death (Wikipedia.com). Grief and the grieving process associated with death are natural and normal. They are ingrained into our brains. As a funeral service practitioner, I would make it my duty to be sure that the families who come to me in their time of loss realize and accept that their pain and grief is completely natural and that the best way to deal with these painful emotions is to just feel them. After all, this is why we are all in this business. We are here to comfort the living by doing our absolute best to care for the dead.

References:

Wikipedia.com On Death and Dying. Data retrieved Jan. 24th 2008 from

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On_Death_and_Dying

Scholarship Runner-Up - Spring 2008

Erica Jensen