Sociology for Funeral Service

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  1. adaptive funeral rite
    a rite adjusted to the needs of the family or the trends of the time
  2. agrarian
    dealing with agriculture, farm based. The locale of the extended (joint) family system
  3. anonymity
    a situation in which a person or entity is unknown
  4. beliefs
    existential statements about the physical and social world
  5. blended family
    a family unit consisting of one male and one female, their children together, and any children they may have had from previous marriages
  6. bureaucratization
    a governing system characterized by specialization, hierarchy, formal rules, impersonality, and a specialized administrative staff
  7. ceremony (ritual)
    any action performed during a rite which may or may not have symbolic meaning to the participants or observers of the action
  8. class
    a grouping of people with similar socio-economic status
  9. co-habitants
    two or more people, unrelated by either blood or marriage who are sharing living quarters together
  10. contemporary
    living or happening in the same period
  11. cremation
    the reduction of a dead human remains to its essential inorganic elements by use of fire
  12. cultural relativism
    the emotional attitude that recognizes other cultures as equivalent and pertinent
  13. cultural universal
    common traits or patterns found in all cultures of mankind. They are government, marriage, and funeral rites
  14. culture
    • a set of knowledge, beliefs, attitudes and rules for behavior that are held commonly within a society
    • a system of abstract patterns of and for both living and dying which are learned directly or indirectly
  15. customs
    a social behavior which is considered to be normal and is based on tradition
  16. demographic
    pertaining to demography; the science of vital statistics, or of births, deaths, marriages, etc. of population
  17. direct learning
    the acquiring of the culture by a person through deliberate instruction by other members of that society
  18. doctrine of atonement
    the belief that the created is reunited with the creator at death
  19. egalitarian
    a form of family government which holds that both male and female have equal voice in governing
  20. enculturation (socialization)
    the process by which a person learns the social values of a society
  21. ethnic
    a group of people who are recognized as a distinct group on the basis of such characteristics as language, ancestry, or religion
  22. ethnocentrism
    the belief that one's own race, nation, group or culture is superior to all others
  23. extended (joint) family
    a household unit consisting of one mother, one father, all of their unmarried children, their sons, sons' wives and their children
  24. folkways
    behaviors which when violated carry only informal sanctions such as scolding or ridicule
  25. funeral
    a rite performed with the body present
  26. funeralization
    a process involving all activities associated with final disposition
  27. funeral rite
    an all inclusive term used to encompass all funerals and/or memorial services
  28. humanistic funeral rite
    a funeral rite that is in essence devoid of religious connotation
  29. immediate disposition
    any disposition of a dead human body, either by means of burial or cremation, with no form of funeral rite at the time of disposition
  30. indirect learning
    a process by which a person learns the norms of his culture by observation of others in his or her society. Includes attitudes, manner of dress and ways of thinking, praying, talking, etc
  31. industrialization
    the change from individual crafting of products to the manufacturing of goods through mass production
  32. issue
    the offspring or children of a specific set of parents
  33. law
    a must behavior of a people enforced by those elected to govern; a rule of action perscribed by an authority able to enforce its will
  34. matriarchal family
    a family government where the mother or female possesses power and the right of decision making
  35. memorial service
    a funeral rite held without the body present
  36. memorial society
    an organization, public or private, which endorses the practice of conducting funeral rites without the body of the deceased present
  37. mobility
    the state or quality of being mobile; the ability to move from place to place readily, or to move from class to class, either up or down
  38. modern
    of, or characteristic of the present or recent times; not ancient, often used to designate certain contemporary tendencies
  39. modified extended family
    a family unit created by two or more nuclear families or friendships
  40. mores
    must behavior; rules of behavior which are considered vital to the welfare of the group and accompanied by relatively severe sanction
  41. neo-localism
    the movement of families away from where they were born
  42. non-traditional funeral rite
    those funeral rites which deviate from the normal or prescribed circumstances of established customs
  43. nuclear family
    a family unit that is made up of a married man and woman and their children
  44. overt conduct
    behavioral patterns which are observable by others
  45. patriarchal family
    a form of family government where the father, or male, possesses the power and right of decision making
  46. pre-need programs
    arrangements between a funeral establishment and family which designates details of a funeral service, including the selection of merchandise, prior to the death of a person
  47. religion
    • a culturally entrenched pattern of behavior made up of:
    • (1) sacred beliefs,
    • (2) emotional feelings accompanying the beliefs, and
    • (3) overt conduct presumably implementing the beliefs and feelings
  48. rite
    any event performed in a solemn and prescribed manner
  49. rites of passage
    ceremonies centering around transition in life from one status to another
  50. rule
    a specific method or procedure used to comply with a folkway, mores and/or law
  51. single parent family
    a family unit made up of one adult, either male or female, and their children
  52. social function
    an event which allows those who have something in common with each other to deal with one another in regard to that which they share in common
  53. social mobility
    the upward or downward movement of a person or family within the social classes of their society
  54. social stratification
    the categorization of people according to their attainment or lack of attainment of finances or social status
  55. society
    a group of persons forming a single community with some interests in common
  56. sociology
    the study of social groups, their modes of organization, the processes which tend to maintain or change these forms, and the relationships between the groups
  57. subcultures
    a division of a culture, connected to a larger culture by common traits, while having unique traits of its own
  58. symbol
    anything to which socially created meaning is given
  59. taboo
    a social prohibition of certain actions; a behavior which dictates that one must abstain from certain acts
  60. thanatology
    the study of death, derived from the name Thanatos, Greek God of Death
  61. traditional funeral rite
    those funeral rites that follow a prescribed ritual which may be dictated either by religious beliefs or social customs
  62. urbanization
    the change from rural to urban areas
  63. difference between psychology and sociology of funeral service
    • psychology focuses on the individual; begins at time of death (or anticipation of death) and ends with acceptance of death
    • sociology focuses on group; begins with arrangement conference and ends with the final disposition
  64. in the eyes of the sociologist...
    ...people tend to behave the way they are socially expected to behave
  65. credited as the founding fathers of sociology
    Greek philosophers
  66. basis of sociological thought
    questions about the impact of group life on human thoughts, feelings and behaviors
  67. intangible request
    something like a special poem being read or having an open casket at the graveside
  68. tangible request
    something like a family requesting that a favorite toy be buried with their child
  69. a casket made entirely of wood without any metal pieces (Jewish)
  70. the learning process begins... birth
  71. primitive funeral rite
    a rite that can be identified with a pre-literate society
  72. Four points:
    • 1. Funeral rite itself is a social function
    • 2. Funeral rite is a cultural universal
    • -announcement of death
    • -care of the deceased
    • -method of disposition
    • -ceremony or ritual
    • -memorialization
    • 3. to understand how a society deals with death, one must first understand its social structure
    • 4. funeral rites reflect both modern and contemporary tendencies
  73. Contemporary social factors affecting funeral rites
    • 1. economic (capitalist, shift from manufacturing to service, reduced middle class)
    • 2. social stratification and class (social mobility, identifying and communicating with each class)
    • 3. geographic factors and neo-localism (difference in disposition and merchandise)
    • 4. religion (judeo-christian, atonement, meaning)
    • 5. government (democratic)
    • 6. educational level (varies, impact on social mobility)
    • 7. ethnicity
    • 8. divorce
    • 9. abuse (feelings of relief and guilt)
    • 10. same-sex partnerships
    • 11.cohabitants
    • 12. single life (selling point for prearrangements)
Card Set:
Sociology for Funeral Service
2011-08-08 22:57:49
funeral service sociology terms

FSE 130: boldface terms from back of book, a little bit from lecture slides
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