Experiences of grief from the perspective of different religious practices

Abstract

This article analyzes how the meaning of grief and its forms of expression vary according to the spiritual practices of the bereaved. The objective is to explore experiences of loss from the perspective of different experiences related to religiosity, with an emphasis on the impacts of religion and funeral rites on the process of coping with death. Methodologically, this study is descriptive and exploratory study, in which 57 Brazilian adults answered an online questionnaire about subjective experiences related to human finitude. The results show that religious beliefs and rituals largely favor the elaboration of grief processing, although they may generate additional suffering in specific contexts of dogmatic pressure, mainly depending on the stage of grief the individual is experiencing. It can be concluded that rituals act as essential symbolic tools to aid in the grieving process, helping in the psychological adaptation of the bereaved individual.