Death, Ritual and Belief: The Rhetoric of Funerary Rites

(Paperback, 3rd edition)

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Death, Ritual and Belief, now in its third edition, explores many important issues related to death and dying, from a religious studies perspective, including anthropology and sociology. Using the motif of 'words against death' it depicts human responses to grief by surveying the many ways in which people have not let death have the last word, not simply in terms of funeral rites but also in memorials, graves, and in ideas of ancestors, souls, gods, reincarnation and resurrection, whether in the great religious traditions of the world or in more local customs. He also examines bereavement and grief, experiences of the presence of dead, near-death experiences, pet-death and the symbolic death played out in religious rites. Updated chapters have taken into account new research and include additional topics in this new edition, notably assisted dying, terrorism, green burial, material culture, death online, and the emergence of Death Studies as a distinctive field. Case studies range from Anders Breivik in Norway, to the Princess of Wales, and to the Rapture in the USA. A new perspective is also brought to his account of grief theories. Providing an introduction to key authors and authorities on death beliefs, bereavement, grief and ritual-symbolism, Death, Ritual and Belief is an authoritative guide to the perspectives of major religious and secular worldviews.

Reviews

Readers will benefit from Davies interdisciplinary approach and broad interests, and especially his inclusion of secular funerary practices alongside religious rites. The sheer number of topics presented this book will no doubt spark new ideas and raise new questions. * Religious Studies Review *
Daviess blend of personal theories about processes of grief and his survey of others research offers important contributions in death studies. * Reading Religion *
In this third edition, Douglas Davies has once again crafted a book that skilfully draws together current multi-disciplinary thinking and examples to illuminate how humans respond to death through ritual, belief, art and architecture. Through his clear writing, not only does he summarise key issues of rituals and rites making this an excellent resource for students and scholars alike but also provides insightful suggestions for future death studies research. * Erica Borgstrom, Lecturer in Medical Anthropology & End of Life Care, The Open University, UK *
Professor Davies has revised his widely respected text - "Death, Ritual, and Belief" - as a place where classical texts of anthropology and theology interrogate the new. This new edition also investigates the novel entires into the world of death and dying - from robots to near-death experiences to the world of social media. An encyclopaedic and scholarly triumph! * Allan Kellehear, 50th Anniversary Professor (End-of-Life Care), University of Bradford, UK *

Author Bio

Douglas Davies is Professor in the Study of Religion and Director of the Centre for Death and Life Studies, Durham University, UK. He is the author of numerous books on death, Mormonism and Anglicanism. He is a Fellow of the British Academy, as well as a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences and of the Learned Society of Wales.