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Religious Funeral Customs

 

Religious Funeral Customs

To provide the best customer service to culturally diverse groups, you must be well acquainted with their expectations as consumers and with the variety of funeral customs and practices they honor. Never make assumptions about the best ways to meet the funeral and memorialization needs and desires of groups that are new to you or your market.

The following list includes religions recognized by the VA per the Available Emblems of Belief for Placement on Government Headstones and Markers. For further insight, consult clergy members from a particular group or other resources in your community that are aligned with diverse groups.

 

Funeral Rites

Suggested Resources

Religious Funeral Customs

Armenian Orthodox Armenian Apostolic Church, independent Oriental Orthodox Christian church and the national church of Armenia. READ MORE READ MORE >
Bahai Bahāʾī Faith, religion founded in Iran in the mid-19th century by Mīrzā Ḥosayn ʿAlī Nūrī, who is known as Bahāʾ Allāh (Arabic: “Glory of God”). Read More Read More >
Buddhist Buddhism, religion and philosophy that developed from the teachings of the Buddha. Read More Read More >
Catholic Roman Catholicism, Christian church that has been the decisive spiritual force in the history of Western civilization. Read More Read More >