
A People's Lifestyle Is One Thing, Their Death-style Another. The Proximity Or Distance Between Such Styles Says Much About A Society, Not Least In Britain Today. Mors Britannica Takes Up This Style-issue In A Society Where Cultural Changes Involve Distinctions Between Traditional Religion, Secularisation, And Emergent Forms Of Spirituality, All Of Which Involve Emotions, Where Fear, Longing, And A Sense Of Loss Rise In Waves When Death Marks The Root Embodiment Of Our Humanity. These World-orientations, Evident In Older And Newer Ritual Practices, Engage Death In The Hope And Desire That Love, Relationships, Community, And Human Identity Be Not Rendered Meaningless. Yet Both Emotions And Ritual Have An Uneasiness To Them Because 'death' Is A Slippery Topic As The Twenty-first Century Gets Under Way In Britain. In This Work, Douglas J. Davies Draws From A Largely Anthropological-sociological Perspective, With Consideration Of History, Literature, Philosophy, Psychology, And Theology, To Provide A Window Into British Life And Insights Into The Foundation Links Between Individuals And Society, Across The Spectrum Of Traditionally Religious Views Through To Humanist And Secular Alternatives. He Considers Memorial Sites (from Churchyards To Roadside Memorials); Forms Of Corporeal Disposal (from Cremation To Composting); And Death Rites In A Range Of Religious And Secular Traditions.
This work investigates how contemporary British society navigates the intersection of traditional religious practices, secularization, and emerging spiritualities through the lens of death and mourning. Douglas J. Davies, a professor of theology and religion with extensive expertise in death studies, utilizes an interdisciplinary framework to analyze how modern Britons manage the emotional and ritualistic demands of mortality. By synthesizing sociological data with historical, psychological, and theological perspectives, the author argues that the way a society approaches death reveals the underlying structure of its collective identity and human values.
What You Will Find
Scope Limits
Scholars and practitioners in the field of death studies recognize this work as a comprehensive examination of the British landscape regarding end-of-life rituals. Readers frequently note the academic density of the prose, which effectively bridges the gap between sociological theory and practical cultural observation.
Page Count:
418
Publication Date:
2015-01-01
Publisher:
Oxford University Press
ISBN-10:
0191040002
ISBN-13:
9780191040009
No comments yet. Be the first to share your thoughts!