The Differences in Religions and Their Burial Rituals

Introduction
The three dominant religions of Christianity, Judaism and Islam all shares some common characteristics when it comes to burial rites, and yet each has their own cultural quirks and issues. Each religion has different sects as well. Christianity was dominated essentially by Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodox for most of its history, but Protestant Christianity introduced myriad sects over the past five hundred years. Judaism has also seen various sectarian movements arise, but can generally be divided into Orthodox, Conservative and Reform Judaism. Islam has its sects as well, including Sunni and Shia. This paper will compare and contrast the general burial rituals of Roman Catholics, Jews and Muslims, highlighting sectarian differences when appropriate, while also relying on my own personal history with family and friends to shed more light on the subject from my own perspective.
Rituals at the Time of Death
In the Roman Catholic tradition, the time of death is when the sacrament of Extreme Unction is given. Today, this sacrament is also known as the Sacrament of the Sick or Dying and the Last Rites. In the tradition of the Church, the purpose of the sacrament is to give spiritual assistance to the seriously sick or dying individual. The primary aim is for the remission of sins and the restoration of spiritual health and grace to the soul if it has been absent through mortal sin; and the conditional benefit can be the restoration of bodily health (Toner). The rite includes using oil blessed by the bishop of the diocese, which is touched to the eyes, ears, lips, hands, and nose of the sick person. The priest says, “Through this holy unction and His own most tender mercy may the Lord pardon thee whatever sins or faults thou hast committed by sight, by hearing, smell, taste, touch, walking, carnal delectation” (Toner). The sacrament of Extreme Unction gives the dying person the opportunity to confess sins and prepare for judgment with a clear conscience and an infusion of grace into the soul. The individual does not have to be conscious for the sacrament to be administered but does need to conscious to make a last confession.
In Protestant rites, the sacrament is typically not provided. Neither Calvin nor Luther had anything but disgust for the sacrament, considering it a manmade institution rather than a divine one (Toner). Thus, this sacrament, which is considered highly important among both Roman Catholics and the Eastern Orthodox at the time of death, is largely ignored among Protestants.
The Jewish ritual at the time of death focuses primarily on preparing the body. This includes the practice of washing the body, ritual purification, and dressing the body. Prayers from the Torah are read: the book of Psalms, Isaiah, Zechariah and others are common. The precise steps in the preparation of the body are:
1. Covering the body with a sheet to await the cleansing process.
2. Uncovering the body once the process is ready to be begun
3. Using water to purify the body, either by submersion or by water poured from three buckets
4. Drying the body
5. Dressing the body in the ceremonial burial clothing with a sash wrapped around the outside of the clothing and tied so as to show the Hebrew sign for the name of God.
6. The body is laid in a casket without lining (Goodman).
Once the deceased is in the casket, the chevra—i.e., the Jewish group tasked with overseeing the burial ritual—prays to God for forgiveness of the sins of the deceased (Brener). This preparation contrasts with the Catholic tradition, where the body is prepared for burial by placing a crucifix in the hands of the deceased, who is placed within a coffin.
In the Islamic tradition, variations will occur from one region to another and according to sectarian custom; however, the common rite at the time of death includes adhering to shariah law, which proscribes immediate burial of the dead without delay—thus within one day of death. The custom at the time of death is similar to that conducted in the Jewish tradition: the body is bathed, and then it is enshrouded in white cotton or linen, and the deceased is placed in a grave. The purpose of bathing the body is to clean it, and heated water is used for the custom. It is a custom that stems from the ritual of the Sunnah, practiced by Muhammad (Siddiqui). The ones who wash the body are the members of the family who are of the same sex as the deceased. In Islam there are no formal sacraments for the dying and no formal rite comparable to the Catholic sacrament of extreme unction—though imams will make visits to the dying to help them prepare spiritually for death (Sheikh, Gatrad).
The Burial
Traditionally in the Roman Catholic religion, the deceased will receive a Requiem Mass, which includes prayers for the dead at the foot of the altar. A procession would begin at the house of the deceased, with the priest reading the De Profundis and sprinkling the deceased with holy water. In my own experience, this practice is not done anymore and instead of a procession from the house, the family arranges with a funeral service to prepare the body for a layout (a wake), where a priest may or may not come to lead a rosary and recite the prayers for the dead. A funeral mass will be held typically the day after the layout and a procession will occur from the church to a Catholic cemetery, where the priest will bless the grave if it the ground is not already blessed (it should be if it is a Catholic cemetery). The Lord’s Prayer is prayed and the body lowered into the ground. However, depending on family preferences, the burial may take place after everyone has departed and the prayers may be led by a deacon. Bodies may be entombed in a mausoleum. The gravesite is typically marked with a tombstone that has some Christian sign on it, usually a cross engraved on the face of it, or words signifying the faith of the deceased.
In the Jewish tradition, burial is recommended in the Torah to be as soon as possible, though it may be delayed to honor the dead if there are many people who want to pay their respects before burial. Traditional burials involved processing with the casket to the gravesite according to the ritual of reciting Psalm 91 seven times. There is a pause in the procession with each reading of the Psalm. At the gravesite, the mourners fill the grave, each taking turns to cover the casket with a little bit of earth from a shovel or a spade. The tool is not passed from one to the other but rather placed back in the earth where the next mourner can pick it up. This is done so that each person communicates his grief individually rather than passing it from one person to the next in a collective manner. Once the burial is finished, the Tziduk Hadin prayer is said, which acknowledges the righteousness of God’s judgment (Goldstein).
Following the burial, the mourner is not supposed to attend any joyous celebrations for seven days. This process is known as “sitting shiva” and the mourners will gather together for the week. Jews are commanded to visit mourners as an act of kindness during this period (Goodman).
In the Islamic tradition, the community will offer a collective prayer to ask Allah for forgiveness for the sins of the deceased. This prayer is called the Janazah prayer and it precedes the burial of the deceased. Once the prayer is concluded, the body is taken for burial. At the cemetery, the grave is dug so that it is perpendicular to the direction one would go in to reach Mecca. The body is placed in the grave on its right side and this way faces the holy city. Traditionally, the grave is marked with a stone that is not to exceed a foot in height; however, it has become more common for families to erect monuments of more elaboration. A collective prayer for the dead is recited which concludes the ritual. Mourning then commences, which is similar to the Jewish tradition. In the Catholic tradition, there is no prescribed process for mourning. In Islam, mourners are expected to mourn for three days, during which time they wear no decorative clothes or ostentatious outfits (Siddiqui). Grieving is meant to be dignified and loud wailing or tearing of the hair is not recommended, as these are seen as acts that might scandalize others into doubting their faith.
How Rituals Have Changed
As with any custom or tradition, processes change and develop. The Catholic tradition was relatively stable for much of the Church’s long history; however, in the 20th century, customs began to change substantially following the Second Vatican Council in the 1960s (Wilde). I have seen this myself in my own family, as there is a sharp divide between the way rites are conducted in the Tridentine custom and the way rites are conducted in the new order. The new order is far less formal, far more sentimental and oriented towards celebrating the life of the deceased than towards praying for the soul of the deceased, as is the tradition in the Tridentine rite. The Tridentine rite is the Latin rite that was codified at the Council of Trent in the 16th century. It was already said throughout the Church and was the custom at the time, but the Council officially made it the rite to follow because the Protestant Reformation was in full swing and the Church needed to show something concrete to Catholics of what they were to follow in terms of a religious ritual.
The Second Vatican Council altered that custom substantially by initiating wide changes throughout the Church, starting with the Latin rite. The Mass was now to be said in the vernacular language of the people. So in America that meant Mass would be said in English. The Mass itself would change too. The priest would no longer celebrate the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass at the altar but would do it at a supper table facing the congregants. This change was implemented to facilitate more interaction between the priest and the lay people. Lay ministers were also invited to take part in the readings during the Mass. The priest was told to take a step back and make himself less visible in the ceremonies. It was a process of democratization in the Mass ritual. This can be seen at a novus ordo (new order) Mass for a funeral. It is much shorter than the traditional Requiem Mass and there is almost no solemnity. The music has all been changed so that now sentimental songs are sung in the choir instead of the ancient hymns that used to be associated with the Tridentine rite. In my own particular opinion, these changes have been for the worse because it has destroyed any sense of the Four Last Things among the faithful. These are Death, Judgment, Heaven and Hell. Today, in the novus ordo rite, the people attend a funeral mass and no one mentions a word about the need to pray for the soul of the deceased. It is assumed among them all that everyone goes straight to Heaven, even though this idea is contrary to Catholic teaching. Even the dress and manner of the people in the new rite has changed: people come in whatever their everyday attire is: there is no sense of the church being a holy place where one should dress appropriately and in a more dignified and modest manner. Women used to cover their heads in the church by putting veils over their hair, but today women enter in without any covering, wearing whatever they are used to wearing every day of the year. It is hardly a solemn thing to behold. Part of the reason for this change was to make Catholicism seem more acceptable to Protestants (Wilde). By mirroring the manner of Protestants, the Catholic Church assumed it would make itself more appealing—but his has been quite the wrong assumption as the Church has not gained members but rather lost them. This suggests that by no longer expressing seriousness and solemnity in its rites, the Church has lost the interest of serious people.
The Jewish tradition has changed significantly as well, especially in the last few hundred years. These changes have coincided with the rise of Protestantism and the emergence of Jews in the upper ranks of society. The Age of Rothschild ushered in a new dominant class of Jew, and the desire to get away from the old, orthodox Jewish practices, such as the wearing of side locks and particular clothing, was seen as necessary for the purposes of integration. This is how Reform Judaism came about. Jews wanted to be able to integrate with Gentile society and to be accepted as more normal, so they got rid of many of the outward customs and rites. Conservative Judaism came about as compromise between the two extremes. Conservative Jews thought that reform was needed but that some customs should also be kept.
Reform Jews will receive a black ribbon torn by the rabbi to show that they are mourners and they will pin this to their clothing. They will only sit shiva for one to three days rather than for seven days according to the orthodox manner. As far as preparing the body goes, the same customs are typically followed because this is a very private affair. It is the public acts that Reform Jews typically have changed so as to blend in with Gentile society more easily. Part of this is also because Reform Jews do not believe the same as the orthodox: they believe that all souls go back to God and that there is no resurrection of the dead (Reform Judaism).
In Islam there have been no significant changes to the burial rites, as this community is still very traditional. The only changes have been related to custom and sect and these will depend on location and where the community of Muslims is located in the world. A Muslim community in the Middle East will be vastly different from a Muslim community in the US, as the latter will be more subdued and the former will be more pronounced simply because of the acceptance of the culture.
This change as a result of culture is comparable among the three. The Catholic Church found itself more and more immersed in a world of Protestant Christianity and so adapted its rites to reflect a Protestant mentality. Reform Jews adapted their rites to reflect a Gentile exterior. Islam alone has mainly preserved its rites and has only dialed public expressions back because Muslims know that in the US and elsewhere in the West they are viewed with suspicion since 9/11 and that causes them to be more cautious in most places.
Conclusion
The burial rites of Roman Catholicism, Judaism and Islam compare and contrast well enough broadly speaking. All three incorporate some type of prayer process for the dead, at least traditionally. With reform movements have come a simplification of the burial rite for Catholics and Jews. The Tridentine rite is now only celebrated by traditional Catholics and most Jews today enjoy the Reform rites and believe that the burial process should be a life affirming process. This belief appears to be celebrated by Catholics as well in the new rite: instead of praying for the dead, they focus on sharing fond memories of the deceased. Only in the orthodox Jewish religion and in the Tridentine rite of Roman Catholicism is there any sense of seriousness about what death means and what awaits one on the other side. Islam retains this seriousness, too, as its rites have not changed much.
Catholics alone have a sacrament available for the dying at the time of death, however. Jews and Muslims do not have a sacramental rite that the dying or their family members can avail themselves of at the moment of death. Imams will visit the dying as will rabbis but these are informal visits meant to offer consolation; they are not formal rites. Orthodox communities will adhere to traditional norms, and this is true across all three religions; the most prescribed norms are found in Orthodox Judaism, which dictates the burial process as well as the mourning process. Islam is similar but Roman Catholicism is much more relaxed and traditionally recommends only the Requiem Mass followed by prayers for the dead at the gravesite. In Orthodox Judaism there is a procession with repeated recitation of the Psalms followed by burial customs for mourners.
Works Cited
Brener, Anne. Mourning and Mitzvah: A Guided Journal for Walking the Mourner’s Path Through Grief to Healing. Jewish Lights/Turner Publishing, 2017.
Goldstein, Z. “The Jewish Burial.” https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/368092/jewish/The-Burial.htm
Goodman, Arnold M.  A Plain Pine Box: A Return to Simple Jewish Funerals and Eternal Traditions. Ktav Publishing House, 2003.
Reform Judaism. https://www.funeralwise.com/customs/jewish/reform/
Sheikh, Aziz, and Abdul Rashid Gatrad, eds. Caring for Muslim patients. Radcliffe Publishing, 2008.
Siddiqui, Abdul Hamid. Sahih Muslim. Peace Vision, 2012.
Toner, Patrick. \"Extreme Unction.\" The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 5. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1909.
Wilde, Melissa J. Vatican II: A sociological analysis of religious change. Princeton University Press, 2018.