Christianity
Islam
Judaism
Hinduism
Buddhism
Death & Mourning Practices
How a community mourns its dead reveals its deepest beliefs about mortality and hope. Mourning periods, memorial prayers, and bereavement customs provide structure for grief while affirming that death is not the final word.
Across the World's Religions
Christianity
- Practice
- Mourning with hope; memorial services; prayers for the departed
- Key Text
- 1 Thessalonians 4:13; John 11:35; Revelation 21:4
Islam
- Practice
- Iddah (mourning period); du'a for the deceased; patience in loss
- Key Text
- Quran 2:156; Hadith (Muslim 918)
Judaism
- Practice
- Shiva (7 days), Sheloshim (30 days), Kaddish (11 months)
- Key Text
- Genesis 50:10; Job 2:13; Ecclesiastes 3:4
Hinduism
- Practice
- Shraddha (memorial rites); Tarpana (water offerings to ancestors)
- Key Text
- Bhagavad Gita 1:41; Garuda Purana
Buddhism
- Practice
- Dana (merit-making) for the deceased; chanting; meditation on death
- Key Text
- AN 5.57 (Upajjhatthana Sutta); Tirokudda Sutta (Kp 7)