any industry, funeral directors do have their own set of beliefs, customs, and cultural practices. There is no reason that these personal beliefs and practices should be compromised by honoring another’s beliefs. It is prevalent for a director to serve a family of a differing faith or religious affiliation than his or her own. Respecting and honoring the customs and rituals of that faith does not constitute any compromise to the director’s own beliefs. Professionalism includes making every effort to carry out the deceased’s wishes and those of the family with dignity and respect. that is being made and honor the request entirely. Regardless of any funeral service professional’s ethnicity or cultural background in this country, there is an excellent chance that the director has a tradition or practice in their own family that others would consider to be ‘different.’ Just as with the overall spirit and emotional environment of a service, it can be vastly different from a similar background and geographic culture. Each service that a funeral home holds will differ in ways from the one previous and then again from the one to follow. Even within a state or community, customs and traditions can be completely different. Whereas the mood of one service can be lighthearted with the right amount of comic relief, others may be very somber and reverent, and still, others may be more like the spirit of a celebration. There is no indication that the family of any of the three mentioned styles grieves more or less than that of the other styles. Being a Funeral Service Professional dictates observing a professional manner in all aspects of serving client families. The term ‘professional’ is defined as “exhibiting a courteous, conscientious, and generally businesslike manner in the workplace” (merrian-webster.com, 2020). The overall meaning of this term can change and morph from one service to the next. An experienced director can often discern a family’s atmosphere in times such as in an arrangement conference. Correctly observing and slightly modify their mannerisms to that meet the needs of that family. Whereas a limited amount of lighthearted conversation may be completely inappropriate in one family arrangement conference, it can significantly serve to place another family at ease while providing them a much-needed level of comfort. Being astute in observing and recognizing the appropriate mannerisms with a family cannot easily be taught to others. This ability is also challenging to learn employing traditional education, such as books and websites. For most directors who can excel in this area, it requires patience and constant observation. An additional component of being an excellent director is ever observant to those around. Funeral service may be for the care of the dead, but the best funeral directors are those who excel in dealing with the decedent’s families. be the families, extended family members, and friends of the deceased who expect certain practices and experience difficulty accepting the party’s decisions with primary right control. When couples marry to spend their lives together, their families do not always get the option to choose the new members of their family. It is not uncommon for extended families to be opposed to other cultures’ practices and traditions. The source of concentration may be from the opposed cultural or traditional practice or may be due to historical tension. Funeral directors can usually detect during an arrangement conference period when conflicts within a family exist. It can be an awkward and daunting situation for a director, especially with the conflict, which is more covert and not easily identified. The emotions stirred at these times can often be volatile and subject to a broad array of emotions such as anger, resentment, and confusion. It is not uncommon for strife to be present in families during the making of funeral arrangements and
“sympathy or indulgence for beliefs or practices differing from or conflicting with one’s own” (www.merriam-webster.com, 2020). Funeral Directors are and should be professionals in caring for all people in a time of need regardless of their beliefs. Simply being tolerant of a requested practice does not provide the same acceptance level as serving each family with all possible hospitalities. Funeral service professionals are human beings before becoming funeral directors and remain human beings as they serve in the death care industry. As is the case with professionals of Respecting cultural practices Funeral service professionals are engaged in caring for the deceased while also caring for the living left behind. It is crucial for directors and funeral service associates to respect the families of the cultural practice observed in their loved ones’ funeral rites. Some families’ rituals and practices may seem insignificant, unimportant, or even strange in some cases; but none the less are essential to the family. The practices may be necessary to the family as they believe the practice is crucial in the transition of the deceased from this life to the next. The family and friends may believe the practice to be imperative for the deceased’s spirit to rest in peace. Other times, the practices may be essential in the family, friends, and community’s healing process. Funeral Service professionals should always observe a standard of care that includes the non-judgmental acceptance of rituals and practices. Some practices from around the world would be considered entirely inappropriate and even bizarre to many Westerners. A tradition in Madagascar called the “Famadihana” is practiced. In this tradition, the bodies of family members who have previously passed away and been entombed are removed from their crypts every two or three years. The phrase “Famadihana” is an expression of the action of turning over. Families remove the skeletal remains of their family members and renew their shrouding. The ritual is considered essential for the Malagasy people and is periodically performed every 5-9 years (Razafindrakoto, 2006). Even though most Westerners could not imagine doing this with their loved ones’ skeletal remains, it is vital to the Malagasy culture. There are some practices dictated by religious beliefs or customs. There are most likely people in the world who would consider the Western practice of placing flowers on a loved one’s grave to be a wasted action. They may question why this was done as the deceased cannot see or smell the flowers. However, this is important to many family members to signify the memory of their loved one lives on. Respecting cultural practices must be done without the exhibition of verbal or nonverbal indication of disapproval. Language barriers and cultural barriers may prevent directors from fully understanding the request made by family members. It is essential to respectfully seek to fully understand the request Multicultural families Just as there can be subtle differences among practices and rituals among members of different family backgrounds, there can likewise be dramatic differences. There are more noticeable differences that must be addressed, such as the method of final disposition. For example, there could be a dispute over the selection of cremation for final disposition. Whereas one side of the family may favor cremation, it may be stringently opposed by other family members. The opposition may be due to religious objections, personal feelings, or historical practice. When death is experienced by a family unit or in a social group, an emotionally charged environment can often be presented. Families can be comprised of a blend of many different combinations of cultures. When two or more cultures are involved within the family, arrangements can become complicated. The cultural practices can sometimes be utterly contradictory to one another, for instance, when a couple from two different religions, national origins, or cultural backgrounds experience a loss. It can
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Book Code: FFL1223
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