I need help with my 'Death and Dying' class...

[Mrs_Nickolas_Carter]

I am working on a project for my 'Death and Dying' class, and I would really appreciate it if some of y'all could help me out by filling out this survey. A lot of it pertains to religion, so I thought that this board might be an appropriate place to post it. If you don't feel comfortable answering some of the questions, leave them blank. I could really use the help, though. Thanks in advance! :D

1.) Name (First name will be fine):

2.) Location:

3.) Have you lived there your entire life?

4.) If not, please explain where you’ve previously lived:

5.) What religion, if any, do you primarily follow?

6.) Were you raised on this religion, or is it something that you’ve chosen to follow more recently?

7.) What is your ethnic background?

8.) Have you ever lost somebody close to you?

9.) What is a typical death or funeral ceremony like for people of your culture or religious background?

10.) What are your views on death? Is it scary for you? Is it something that’s sacred and beautiful?

11.) If not from America, how do your own feelings on death compare to those of the typical American views of death and dying?

12.) What do you believe happens to the spirit after death?

13.) Based on your regular death practices, what is done with the body? Is the body valued after death? (In ancient Egypt, bodies were preserved, because the Egyptians believed in reincarnation and thought that the soul would need the body in the next life.)

14.) Do you believe in reincarnation?

15.) How do you deal with death and dying?

16.) What are your political views?

17.) Any additional thoughts or comments on death and dying, death customs, the body and soul, or the afterlife?

18.) Finally, do you believe that death is a social event? Are our views of death socially constructed views?

[tiger_rascal]

1.) Name (First name will be fine): Chad

2.) Location: WV (Mid-Ohio Valley)

3.) Have you lived there your entire life? The Mid-Ohio Valley, yes, both in OH and WV.

4.) If not, please explain where you’ve previously lived: Born in OH, moved around the same county 3 times and then moved to WV and moved twice more deeper into WV, but still part of the Mid-Ohio Valley, I dont live far from the Ohio River. I always lived with my grandma during the summer months deep in the country of WV since I was very young.

5.) What religion, if any, do you primarily follow? Christianity

6.) Were you raised on this religion, or is it something that you’ve chosen to follow more recently? My dad was a Christian, but he died before I was 3. My mom never raised my family to follow one religion, we are a very open-minded family. My grandma lived her life as a Christian and passed along some great values onto me, but she never forced it or anything, it was the way she lived and I could see the influence of Jesus in her life and it shined for the world to see. I attended some churches when I was younger, on my own freewill. Finally, when I was about 22 or 23 when I started thinking more about Christianity. I decided to read the Bible and it took me about 10 months to read it from front to back. I have since attended a couple of churches, but I am not committed to any church and I currently do not attend one. I still have a lot of growing, spiritually, but I know who my Lord and Savior is and His name is Jesus Christ.

7.) What is your ethnic background? American/Irish

8.) Have you ever lost somebody close to you? Yes

9.) What is a typical death or funeral ceremony like for people of your culture or religious background? It depends on the person and if they have arrangements prepared ahead of time. Generally, we have typical ceremonies, an awake and then the funeral and a reception afterwards, to reminisce and comfort each other. I have a large family and we are always there for each other. My grandmas funeral was the most beautiful funeral I have ever attended. It was the first one I attended that was in a church, it was a little country church next to the family cemetery.

10.) What are your views on death? Is it scary for you? Is it something that’s sacred and beautiful? It used to be scary for me, but after my sister and I lived through a near fatal car accident, we both realized that we could go at any time and we would not even know that we were dead. I believe that once we die, we truly will be at peace. As the Bible says, "And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away." Revelation 21:4 Death is sacred, in a way, and it is beautiful too. I am confident that my grandma is in Heaven and that she is at peace, that to me is beautiful.

11.) If not from America, how do your own feelings on death compare to those of the typical American views of death and dying? N/A

12.) What do you believe happens to the spirit after death? I believe that our spirit either goes to Heaven or perhaps a waiting area, I dont like to think that anyone will go to Hell, I believe that... well, I believe that when we die, we will know for sure, but this is all speculation and only God knows.

13.) Based on your regular death practices, what is done with the body? Is the body valued after death? (In ancient Egypt, bodies were preserved, because the Egyptians believed in reincarnation and thought that the soul would need the body in the next life.) The body is just a shell. Its a temporary housing for our soul while we live our life on this planet.

14.) Do you believe in reincarnation? No. At least I hope not, I want to be at peace after death and if reincarnation is real, I would like to have a choice. I have had some funny experiences that is too long to share here, but I suppose the possibility is open, but I can not say for sure if any of my experiences are the result of my being reincarnated. With that said, my answer is still no.

15.) How do you deal with death and dying? I would say the funeral ceremonies. Its a type of closure.

16.) What are your political views? Im not quite sure, as in which party I would support, but I do have some political views for my own state and some general views for the nation.

17.) Any additional thoughts or comments on death and dying, death customs, the body and soul, or the afterlife? No, I think I've said enough.

18.) Finally, do you believe that death is a social event? Are our views of death socially constructed views? Im not quite sure what you mean.

I hope this helps you with your project. :)

[bekahbeans]

1.) Name (First name will be fine):

Bekah

2.) Location:

Michigan, US

3.) Have you lived there your entire life?

Nope.

4.) If not, please explain where you’ve previously lived:

Born in CA, moved to VA till I was about 2, moved back to CA, moved around in CA for a while, then moved to MI when I was ten.

5.) What religion, if any, do you primarily follow?

Christianity

6.) Were you raised on this religion, or is it something that you’ve chosen to follow more recently?

I was raised a Christian, then decided to actually look into it for myself and chose to continue down that path.

7.) What is your ethnic background?

American/Cherokee/Irish/Welsh/Black Dutch/English/Scottish/Danish. I'm a mutt.

8.) Have you ever lost somebody close to you?

Yes

9.) What is a typical death or funeral ceremony like for people of your culture or religious background?

Well...a couple of them were cremated and then buried either in a cemetary or in a place special to that person during their life. The others were pretty much just a traditional funeral service at a church and then they were buried in cemetaries.

10.) What are your views on death? Is it scary for you? Is it something that’s sacred and beautiful?

I think death is scary to a point simply because it has unknown aspects to it. I believe in an afterlife, but still no one really knows for a fact what happens once we die. I do think though, that death isn't something to really be afraid of. To be cliche, it's just the next stage in life.

11.) If not from America, how do your own feelings on death compare to those of the typical American views of death and dying?

From America.

12.) What do you believe happens to the spirit after death?

Our spirits will move on to the afterlife. I believe people are going to heaven...I doubt very seriously very many, if any, will go to hell - although I believe it exists. I think there might be some sort of holding area, like Chad said, or something in between this life and arriving in heaven...

13.) Based on your regular death practices, what is done with the body? Is the body valued after death? (In ancient Egypt, bodies were preserved, because the Egyptians believed in reincarnation and thought that the soul would need the body in the next life.)

I would say that our bodies are more considered a place where the real person or the spirit dwells. They're not really important once we die, however they're still valued to some degree since they were a part of that person which is part of why we take great care to bury them in nice areas and such.

14.) Do you believe in reincarnation?

I don't really know...I think it's a possibility but I can't prove or disprove it...

5.) How do you deal with death and dying?

Cry and talk about the person a lot. Funerals help too...provides a sense of closure...however they're hard to get through. Mainly just thinking about how much the person added to my life and thinking of the good things about them.

16.) What are your political views?

I honestly don't feel I know enough about politics to have many firm views without sounding ignorant and stupid, so I just pay attention as much as I can handle and vote according to whomever I perceive to be the lesser of the evils.

17.) Any additional thoughts or comments on death and dying, death customs, the body and soul, or the afterlife?

Naaah

18.) Finally, do you believe that death is a social event? Are our views of death socially constructed views?

Everyone's views are at least somewhat socially constructed. We think the way we think because of the culture we are raised in and the society we are in (not to say you can't think differently or all of our thoughts and opinions are dictated by our society, but it plays a huge role). For some cultures death is a social event and others it's not. I'd say in America it's a little of both.

[Mrs_Nickolas_Carter]

Thank you so much! You guys gave some very insightful answers that will definitely assist me with my project.

THANKS! :D