ABSTRACT
Religion and Traumatic Death Sociologists generally view religion as the way in which peoples put their beliefs into practice. Religion is something that people do. Death is not a private event, nor is it only a psychological event. The rituals of religion help us to recognize, understand and process our beliefs about dying and death. The challenge of traumatic death often causes those providing social support to be even more involved in religious rituals. Those who provide social support do so by attending the wake or visitation, funeral, cemetery rituals, the meal afterwards, donating to favorite charity, bringing food for the grieving, visiting or simply sending a personal sympathy note. For many religious organizations, death rituals are quite predictable. As an example, Roman Catholic practices are very similar from one church to another, from one region or nation to another, from one year to another year.
