Cultural and Religious Funeral Customs

Approaching the funeral of a friend from a society or faith community different than your own can be an anxiety-producing task, but gaining a sense of what to expect reduces that anxiety. The following sections have been written for Selected Independent Funeral Homes by the Reverend William G. "Bill" Hoy, DMin, FT. They provide insight into the lives of a variety of fictional families who have experienced a death, and they offer helpful resources for additional research. To read the stories, chose one from the list below:

• A Traditional Hmong Family from Laos
• A Catholic Family from Mexico
• An African-American Family in the Church of God in Christ
• A Caucasian Christian Evangelical Family
• A Hindu Family from Mumbai
• A Muslim Family from Saudi Arabia
• A Lakota Family Remembers
• A Traditional Jewish Family
• A Mormon (LDS) Family from the American West
• A Christian Orthodox Family from Romania
• A Buddhist Japanese-American Family
• A Non-Religious Family

Different Funeral Traditions

You also can learn more about how educating yourself about different cultural and religious traditions can benefit you and those who are grieving a loss.

William G. Hoy, DMin, FT is the director of Texas-based Grief Connect, a Center for bereavement education. As an educator, author and counselor, he has walked alongside grieving people for more than 25 years. In addition to presenting more than 70 invited lectures each year to groups of caregiving professionals across the United States and Canada, Dr. Hoy teaches in the Medical Humanities Program, College of Arts and Sciences at Baylor University.