Death, Ritual, and Belief: The Rhetoric of Funerary Rites

by Douglas Davies

Overview

Describing a great variety of funeral ritual from major world religions and from local traditions, this book shows how cultures not only cope with corpses but also create an added value for living through the encouragement of afterlife beliefs. The explosion of interest in death in recent years reflects the key theme of this book - the rhetoric of death - the way cultures use the most potent weapon of words to bring new power to life. This new edition is one third longer than the original with new material on the death of Jesus, the most theorized death ever which offers a useful case study for students. There is also empirical material from contemporary/recent events such as the death of Diana and an expanded section on theories of grief which will make the book more attractive to death counsellors.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780826454836
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	04/30/2002
Edition description:	Revised
Pages:	272
Product dimensions:	6.14(w) x 9.21(h) x 0.62(d)

About the Author

Douglas J. Davies is Professor in the Study of Religion and Director of Durham University's Centre for Death and Life Studies, UK. His numerous books on death and other aspects of Religious Studies reflect his combined skills as both Anthropologist of Religion and Theologian.

Table of Contents

Introduction1 Interpreting death rites2 Coping with corpses: impurity, fertility and fear3 Theories of grief4 Sacrifice, violence and conquest5 Eastern destiny and death6 Ancestors cemeteries and local identities7 Jewish and Islamic destinies8 Christianity and Offending Death9 Symbolic death and rebirth10 Somewhere to die11 Souls and the presence of the dead12 Pet and animal death13 Book, film and building14 Death, and the birth of religions15 Secular death and life

Editorial Reviews

"Professor Douglas Davies' perceptive and thought-provoking book... provides a rich framework in which to consider the perennial questions of the human response to death. From this book, the fruit of wide-ranging research and reading, it is clear that Professor Davies has established himself as one of the leading writers in an increasingly important field."
Geoffrey Rowell, The Tablet

"This updated and much enlarged book contains fascinating information and discussion about the many, varied issues nestling under the heading of 'death studies'. It would make an excellent textbook." Modern Believing, July 2003

From the Publisher