Mortality Salience and Cemetery Memorialization: An Inquiry of Thanatological Concepts for Pastoral Care

The investigation focuses on two previously unrelated thanatological concepts that support pastoral care when facing the loss of a loved one to death: mortality salience and cemetery memorialization. Two research questions are explored: (a) What positive psychological structures from mortality salie...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Stellenbosch theological journal
Main Author: Gibson, C. Lynn (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Stellenbosch University 2023
In: Stellenbosch theological journal
Year: 2023, Volume: 9, Issue: 2, Pages: 1-16
Further subjects:B Cemetery Memorialization
B Pastoral Care
B Nostalgia
B Deritualization
B Grief and Bereavement
B Mortality Salience
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Summary:The investigation focuses on two previously unrelated thanatological concepts that support pastoral care when facing the loss of a loved one to death: mortality salience and cemetery memorialization. Two research questions are explored: (a) What positive psychological structures from mortality salience buffer existential death anxiety? and (b) How may pastoral deathcare providers reframe modern cemetery memorialization practices to influence the outcomes of mortality salience among the bereaved? Findings from current literature discuss the priming of worldview defenses, self-esteem, and nostalgia as important buffering mechanisms to strengthen psychosocial and spiritual well-being. To assist in the healthy adaptation of loss, the investigation examines the contemporary practices of cremation and permanent placement of dead human bodies and the interplay between mortality salience and cemetery memorialization within the death-avoidant context of deritualization. The investigation elucidates how deathcare practitioners may assuage grief and support active mourning among the bereaved.
ISSN:2413-9467
Contains:Enthalten in: Stellenbosch theological journal
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.17570/stj.2023.v9n2.a2