Home›Funerary Rituals›TraditionBrowse ByTraditionThis page groups rituals by the religious tradition that prescribes them. Wikipedia notes that rituals "may be prescribed by tradition, including religious practices, and are often characterized by formalism, traditionalism, rule-governance, and performance." Browsing by tradition lets a visitor read every ritual belonging to one faith together, rather than finding them scattered by kind.FactsLearn MoreTraditionSourcesComments (0)Reader Challenges (0)FactsOverviewWhat Defines This GroupingWell-attestedRites performed at and after a death - preparation of the body, disposal by burial or cremation, and the observances kept for a fixed period afterwards. Nearly every tradition marks death by rite, but the rites answer different problems: the fate of the dead, the pollution of the living, the obligations of descendants, and the ordering of grief. 2StatusStanding as a Comparative CategoryWell-attestedA standard analytic category in the study of religion 2DirectoryCategoryWell-attestedRituals 1Learn MoreThe funerary rituals This group gathers funerary rituals, the rites surrounding death, the care of the body, and the passage of the dead: burial and cremation, mourning, and the ceremonies that ease or guide the deceased into the afterlife. A tradition's treatment of death reveals much of its view of the soul and the world beyond. The browser will find funerary rituals from across the traditions. The entries describe each rite's form and meaning, noting the beliefs about death and the afterlife that shape it.TraditionFilter Results62 entriesAdherents Today MaximumAll225,776 (1)278,000 (1)380,000 (1)400,910 (1)1,000,000 (1)1,500,000 (3)3,500,000 (2)17,887,212 (1)95,000,000 (1)100,000,000 (1)110,000,000 (1)260,000,000 (1)1,406,000,000 (1)Adherents Today MinimumAll225,776 (1)278,000 (1)380,000 (1)400,910 (1)1,000,000 (1)1,200,000 (1)1,500,000 (3)2,500,000 (1)3,500,000 (1)17,887,212 (1)53,871,526 (1)78,000,000 (1)80,000,000 (1)220,000,000 (1)1,406,000,000 (1)Bankruptcy FilingsAll28 (1)Basis of the Education Facility CountAllThe Body's Own Published Statistics (2)Basis of the Health Facility CountAllThe Body's Own Published Statistics (1)Basis of the Humanitarian Aid FigureAllThe Body's Own Published Statistics (1)Basis of the Membership FigureAllChurch-Reported Rolls (29)Independent Survey (19)National Census (12)Scholarly or Demographic Estimate (19)Basis of the Wealth FigureAllAudited Annual Report (5)Court-Documented Inventory (1)Journalistic or Scholarly Estimate (6)Regulator Filing (5)The Body's Own Published Statistics (3)Calendar SystemAllJulian (Old Calendar) (2)Church FamilyAllAnabaptist (1)Anglican (5)Baptist (3)Eastern Orthodox (9)Evangelical (1)Latter Day Saint (1)Lutheran (3)Methodist (6)Moravian (1)Oriental Orthodox (5)Quaker (1)Reformed (4)Restorationist (1)Roman Catholic (1)Date of SeparationAll2022 (1)Date of Separation End YearAll451 (2)680 (1)900 (1)1204 (2)1555 (1)1560 (1)1566 (1)1571 (1)1612 (1)1662 (1)1712 (1)1795 (1)1815 (1)1830 (1)1846 (1)1850 (1)1876 (1)1908 (2)1913 (1)1925 (1)1968 (1)Date of Separation Start YearAll451 (4)632 (1)760 (1)1054 (3)1346 (1)1448 (1)1457 (1)1521 (1)1534 (2)1536 (1)1560 (1)1609 (1)1652 (1)1693 (1)1772 (1)1784 (1)1787 (1)1796 (1)1804 (1)1810 (2)1811 (1)1830 (1)1833 (1)1858 (1)1870 (1)1876 (1)1883 (1)1885 (1)1895 (1)1915 (1)1935 (1)1961 (1)1993 (1)Defining Doctrinal PositionAllAffirms the Filioque: the Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son (1)Belief may be concealed where disclosure would bring harm (taqiyya) (1)Chalcedonian: two natures in the one person of Christ (Chalcedon, 451) (5)Chalcedonian: two natures in the one person of Christ (Chalcedon, 451) (16)Halakha binding and not subject to historical revision (2)Halakha binding, but developing through scholarship (1)Halakha binding, with secular education, work and civic participation affirmed rather than merely tolerated (1)Halakha informative rather than binding on the individual (2)In the Imam's absence a qualified jurist holds his political authority (1)In the Imam's absence the jurist guides and judges but does not rule (1)Judaism as an evolving religious civilisation, God reconceived naturalistically (1)Liberation by the path of the arhat (1)Miaphysite: one incarnate nature of the Word, divine and human united (2)Miaphysite: one incarnate nature of the Word, divine and human united (3)Non-trinitarian: the Nicene doctrine of the Trinity is not held (1)One vehicle: every teaching leads to a single buddhahood (1)Rejects the Filioque: the Spirit proceeds from the Father (1)Rejects the Filioque: the Spirit proceeds from the Father (8)Requires no subscription to a creed (1)Restorationist: holds the apostolic church to have been lost and restored (2)Succession by divine designation in the Prophet's family (1)The Imams are protected from sin and from error (ismah) (1)The tzaddik or rebbe as spiritual intermediary and head of the community (2)The tzaddik or rebbe as spiritual intermediary and head of the community (2)The written Torah alone; the rabbinic Oral Torah not accepted (1)The written Torah alone; the rabbinic Oral Torah not accepted (1)Trinitarian: one God in three persons (19)Trinitarian: one God in three persons (10)Universal liberation by the path of the bodhisattva (1)Documented Accused CountAll1 (1)3 (1)5 (1)6 (1)19 (1)21 (1)237 (1)390 (1)800 (1)1670 (1)1880 (1)2900 (1)4392 (1)Education Facility Count As OfAll2023-12-31 (1)2026-03-29 (1)GovernanceAllA federation of autonomous member organisations (3)A single central governing body over the whole movement (2)Authority in living jurists whom the laity choose to emulate (1)Authority in trained scholars, with no central office (3)Authority through monastic ordination lineage and its seats (1)Autonomous local bodies under a national umbrella association (3)Business decided by the gathered meeting seeking unity, without clergy (1)Congregational: each congregation self-governing (5)Connexional: congregations bound in a conference with itinerant ministry (6)Delegated representation from congregations up to a general conference (4)Episcopal: governed by bishops (11)No central authority (10)Presbyterian: governed by elders in graded courts (4)Priestly office passing by descent (1)Self-governing churches under patriarchs, deciding in synod (13)Synodal: governed by synods of clergy and lay delegates (4)Universal primacy of a single bishop (1)Health Facility Count As OfAll2023-12-31 (1)How the Expectation Is EnforcedAllCodified Obligation With Consequences (6)Codified Obligation, Ruled Unenforceable (1)Customary Norm (13)Obligation to Support, No Set Rate (5)Preached Expectation, Not Enforced (8)Humanitarian Aid Figure As OfAll2025-12-31 (1)Liturgical LanguageAllAramaic (3)Church Slavonic (3)Classical Arabic (2)Classical Armenian (Grabar) (2)Classical Chinese (read in Sino-Japanese where used in Japan) (1)Classical Japanese (1)Classical Syriac (1)Coptic (2)Early Modern German (the Luther Bible) (1)Geez (4)Georgian (1)Greek (liturgical) (5)Hebrew (10)Latin (1)Pali (1)Sanskrit (1)The vernacular (35)Membership Figure As OfAll1868-01-01 (1)1876-01-01 (1)1910-01-01 (1)1912-01-01 (1)1923-01-01 (1)1924-01-01 (1)1958-01-01 (1)1970-01-01 (2)1971-12-31 (1)1972-01-01 (1)1988-12-31 (1)1991-01-01 (1)1991-05-25 (1)1992-01-01 (1)1996-01-01 (1)2000-04-01 (1)2000-12-31 (1)2002-01-01 (1)2004-01-01 (1)2006-01-01 (3)2007-01-01 (4)2008-01-01 (1)2009-01-01 (3)2010-01-01 (6)2011-01-01 (6)2012-01-01 (1)2013-01-01 (8)2013-10-01 (1)2014-01-01 (5)2015-01-01 (4)2016-01-01 (5)2016-12-31 (1)2017-01-01 (1)2017-10-30 (1)2017-11-08 (1)2018-01-01 (4)2019-01-01 (3)2020-01-01 (9)2021-01-01 (3)2021-03-21 (1)2021-05-11 (1)2021-05-12 (1)2021-12-31 (1)2022-01-01 (11)2022-05-03 (1)2022-12-31 (1)2023-01-01 (2)2023-04-29 (1)2023-07-01 (1)2023-08-08 (1)2023-12-31 (1)2024-01-01 (6)2024-03-01 (1)2024-12-31 (3)2025-01-01 (5)2026-02-01 (1)2026-08-14 (3)2026-08-16 (1)OrdinationAllA full female ordination lineage continues (1)An unpaid lay ministry rather than a professional clergy (2)Celibacy required of the ordained (3)Conferred by a teacher's certification of learning (1)Married clergy permitted (15)No ordination; authority rests on learning or on the whole body (3)No successor by deliberate choice (1)Office passes by descent (2)Open to women and men (19)Ordination is into a monastic order, not to a congregation (3)Restricted to men (21)The full female ordination lineage is held lapsed; revival contested (2)Varies between provinces or member bodies (11)Origin Period End YearAll52 (1)100 (1)301 (1)337 (1)340 (2)431 (1)451 (2)900 (1)941 (1)1100 (1)1204 (1)1219 (1)1448 (1)1467 (1)1527 (1)1530 (1)1559 (2)1560 (1)1571 (2)1592 (1)1600 (1)1612 (1)1652 (1)1712 (1)1772 (1)1784 (1)1789 (1)1797 (1)1810 (1)1816 (1)1821 (1)1830 (1)1832 (1)1846 (1)1850 (2)1860 (1)1867 (1)1870 (1)1900 (1)1908 (2)1913 (1)1915 (1)1961 (1)1968 (1)1988 (1)2022 (1)Origin Period Start YearAll250 BCE (1)100 BCE (1)30 (3)42 (1)49 (1)295 (1)320 (2)326 (1)431 (1)632 (1)760 (1)988 (1)1219 (1)1300 (1)1457 (1)1517 (1)1527 (1)1534 (3)1536 (1)1560 (2)1571 (1)1609 (1)1647 (1)1693 (1)1738 (1)1740 (1)1775 (1)1787 (1)1789 (1)1796 (1)1800 (2)1801 (1)1802 (1)1810 (1)1820 (1)1845 (1)1850 (1)1860 (1)1870 (1)1876 (1)1880 (1)1895 (1)1922 (1)1961 (1)1988 (1)2022 (1)Position on JustificationAllFaith Alone (3)No Communion Wide Standard (1)Position on MarriageAllMarriage is held to be a lifelong, monogamous, indissoluble union; remarriage after divorce is not sanctioned while a spouse lives (1)Marriage is held to be monogamous, with remarriage after divorce sanctioned under specified conditions (7)Marriage may licitly be polygynous (1)No single uniform teaching on marriage's terms holds across the body (2)Position on PredestinationAllDouble Predestination (1)Election Affirmed Reprobation Unstated (1)Single Predestination (1)Unsettled (1)Position on SexualityAllSame-sex marriage is performed and LGBT clergy are ordained on equal terms with heterosexual clergy (7)Same-sex orientation or practice is held to bar full membership or participation (4)Same-sex sexual relationships are held contrary to teaching; LGBT individuals are welcomed as members but not ordained, and same-sex unions are not blessed (16)Same-sex unions may be blessed, but ordination is not extended to partnered LGBT clergy (1)The body holds no single settled position; the question is actively and openly contested within it (8)Position on the EucharistAllNo Communion Wide Definition (1)Sacramental Union (1)Spiritual Reception by Faith (2)Position on UsuryAllInterest is permitted but bound by ethical constraints against exploiting the poor (1)Principle of WorshipAllNormative (3)Regulative (1)Relation to the StateAllDisestablished (5)Established (4)No Establishment (16)Privileged Never Established (10)Varies by Province (11)Rule Established or Last ChangedAll1838-07-08 (1)2000-01-01 (1)2007-11-28 (1)2010-10-24 (1)2019-01-01 (1)Sacraments RecognisedAllTwo (4)Settlement TotalAll500,000 (1)995,000 (1)137,300,000 (1)1,500,000,000 (1)5,590,000,000 (1)Standard Rate ExpectedAllFive percent. (1)Ten percent. (6)Twenty percent. (1)Standing as a Comparative CategoryAllA standard analytic category in the study of religion (1)Standing of Holy OrdersAllHistoric Episcopate (1)Historic Episcopate Locally Adapted (1)Historic Episcopate Received Not Required (1)Ministry by Lawful Call (1)Status TodayAllDissolved; the community wound itself up (1)Historical; not practised continuously (1)Living tradition, practised today (56)Wealth Figure As Of YearAll1997 (1)2007 (1)2008 (1)2009 (1)2014 (1)2016 (2)2018 (1)2019 (1)2023 (1)2024 (8)2025 (3)2026 (1)Show ResultsBrowseCompareAfrican Methodist Episcopal ChurchTradition1 entryAfrican Methodist Episcopal Zion ChurchTradition1 entryAmishTradition1 entryAnglican CommunionTradition1 entryAnglicanismTradition1 entryArmenian Apostolic ChurchTradition1 entryBaptistTradition1 entryBeta IsraelTradition1 entryBreslov HasidismTradition7 entriesCalvinism (Reformed)Tradition1 entryChabad-LubavitchTradition7 entriesChristian Methodist Episcopal ChurchTradition1 entryChurch of CyprusTradition4 entriesChurch of EnglandTradition1 entryChurch of GreeceTradition4 entriesChurch of IrelandTradition1 entryChurch of ScotlandTradition1 entryChurch of SwedenTradition1 entryChurch of the NazareneTradition1 entryConservative JudaismTradition1 entryCoptic OrthodoxyTradition1 entryDisciples of ChristTradition1 entryDutch Reformed ChurchTradition1 entryEastern OrthodoxyTradition4 entriesEcumenical Patriarchate of ConstantinopleTradition4 entriesThe Episcopal ChurchTradition1 entryEritrean Orthodox Tewahedo ChurchTradition1 entryEthiopian Orthodox Tewahedo ChurchTradition1 entryEvangelical Lutheran Church in AmericaTradition1 entryFree Methodist ChurchTradition1 entryGeorgian Orthodox ChurchTradition4 entriesGlobal Methodist ChurchTradition1 entryGreek Orthodox ChurchTradition4 entriesHaredi JudaismTradition7 entriesHasidic JudaismTradition7 entriesKaraite JudaismTradition1 entryLatter-day Saints (Mormonism)Tradition1 entryLutheranismTradition1 entryMahayanaTradition1 entryMethodismTradition1 entryModern Orthodox JudaismTradition7 entriesMoravian ChurchTradition1 entryNational Baptist Convention of AmericaTradition1 entryOriental OrthodoxyTradition1 entryOrthodox JudaismTradition7 entriesPresbyterianismTradition1 entryProgressive National Baptist ConventionTradition1 entryQuakerism (Religious Society of Friends)Tradition1 entryReconstructionist JudaismTradition1 entryReform JudaismTradition2 entriesRoman CatholicismTradition3 entriesRomanian Orthodox ChurchTradition4 entriesRussian Orthodox ChurchTradition4 entriesSect ShintoTradition1 entrySerbian Orthodox ChurchTradition4 entriesShia (Twelver)Tradition1 entryTheravadaTradition1 entryTibetan BuddhismTradition2 entriesUkrainian Orthodox ChurchTradition4 entriesThe United Methodist ChurchTradition1 entryWesleyan ChurchTradition1 entryZhengyi (Orthodox Unity)Tradition1 entrySources1. Divinity Atlas Directory Taxonomy, First Edition Category Treetier 12. Encyclopedia of Religiontier 1Mircea Eliade (ed.); Lindsay Jones (ed., 2nd ed.), Macmillan Reference, 2005s.v. Funeral RitesView the SourceDivinity Atlas Directory Prose, First Edition Category Descriptionstier 1Comments (0)No comments yet. Be the first to share a thought.Sign in to join the discussion.Reader Challenges (0)No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.