Kulturowo-religijne aspekty żałoby

Abstract

When we speak of death, grief and bereavement we mustn’t overlook customs, religious beliefs and cultural differences between people. The article shows various responses to a loss. The state of mourning can be accentuated by a number of ceremonies lasting anything from months to years. It can also be understated and brief. Funeral rituals are also diverse. Cremation is either encouraged or strictly forbidden. The article takes a closer look at the nature of mourning in small communities, major religions of the world and in Christianity. This knowledge can be useful in recognising the conditions of effective ways of helping people. One way of searching for help was ‘ars moriendi’, which instructed people on the ‘art’ of dying or Christian consolation, which was meant to meet the needs of the bereaved. The way of helping will certainly differ from culture to culture, but to make it easier we should doubtlessly be open to learning about them.