2004 Fiscal Year Final Research Report Summary
Intercultural Comparison Research on the Funeral Ceremonies
| Project/Area Number |
13610229
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
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| Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
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| Section | 一般 |
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| Research Field |
社会学(含社会福祉関係)
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| Research Institution | Senshu University |
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Principal Investigator |
SHIMANE Katsumi Senshu University, School of Literature, Professor, 文学部, 教授 (20235633)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2001 – 2004
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| Keywords | funeral ceremony / sociology of death / Mongol / France / United States of America / undertaker / burial / grave |
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| Research Abstract |
The aim of this research is to understand, thanks to an intercultural comparison, the influence of modernization on funeral ceremonies in various societies. Surveys have been effectuated in a selected range of countries : Mongolia, France and United States. We interviewed undertakers, mourning families, and specialists of funeral customs. After having taken part in funeral ceremonies, visited funeral homes and cemeteries we gathered all the basic data to be compared.
The information obtained is the following. In the past sixty years, Mongolia and especially Ulaanbaatar, have known an extremely rapid modernization and urbanization. This entailed both a shift from a traditional nomad lifestyle to a more urbanized one and a change in funeral customs. Earth burial has been replacing the practice of leaving corpses in the wilds, and recently the practice of cremation has also been started so that "new funeral traditions" have been invented.
Comparatively, France's modernization took place ear
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lier, but despite the existence of a crematist movement since the 19^<th> century, and its gradual recognition in the eyes of the catholic religion, cremation rates did not increase. At the same time, owing to the gradual restructuring of family relationships after the 70's, families became dependent on undertakers' services to organize the funerals.
In the United States, pregnancy of capitalism in the American society favored the emergence of the funeral industry. SCI (Service Corporation International) is the biggest funeral company in the world and crosses cultural borders. They offer expensive services such as embalming or confection of coffins and vaults with costly materials. They also provide customers with psychological counseling, law consulting and internet memorial.
We can say that in each country, the ancient forms of funerals inherited from religious and traditional customs have been maintained while having been modified through the joint influence of modernization, urbanization, and capitalism. Less
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Research Products
(11 results)
