1. Sociology of Funeral Service
“the science of groups; the processes that tend to maintain or change these forms of organizations and the relations between groups and individuals”

2. Why study sociology as it relates to funeral service?
Funeral rite is a social function.
Funeral rite is a “cultural universal”:
announcement of the death
care of the deceased
a method of disposition
ceremony or ritual
memorialization

3. Readings Question #1 Page 181
According to Canine, what are the five basic elements that create the contemporary American funeral?

4. Readings Question #2
Page 183
List 7 social benefits of funerals.

5. Readings Question #3
Using the Sociology of Funeral Service Glossary, compare and contrast the following terms:
funeral and memorial service
funeral rite and social function
culture and customs
mores, taboos and folkways
law and rules

6. Subculture Sociology of Funeral Service Chapter 2 page 5
“a division, or smaller identifiable unit of culture, connected to that culture by common traits, having unique traits to itself”
members of the subcultures are still associated with the culture but they have some ways and thoughts unique to themselves
families are often a “blend” of several different subcultures

7. Readings Question #4 Page 6
How has “urbanization” influenced the role of the traditional funeral service in American society?

8. Readings Question #5
Using the Sociology of Funeral Service Glossary, compare and contrast the following terms:
cultural universal, ethnocentrism and cultural relativism
religion, ceremony and symbols

9. Readings Question #6
Using the textbook and Sociology of Funeral Service Glossary, compare and contrast the following funeral rites: traditional, non-traditional, adaptive, humanistic, primitive and immediate disposition.

10. Sociological Response to Death
Page 8
1) the funeral rite itself is a social function
2) the funeral rite is a cultural universal
3) the funeral director must examine and understand the social structure of the society
4) funeral rites reflect both modern and contemporary tendencies
modern: of or characteristic of the present or recent times; not ancient
contemporary: living or happening in the same period

11. Readings Question #7 Chapter 3
Using the Sociology of Funeral Service Glossary and textbook, define and discuss enculturation.