Professionalization without dead bodies: the case of Swedish funeral directors

Abstract

The aim of this article is to discuss Swedish funeral directors from a professionalization perspective with a focus on the last decades. The article is primarily based on a research study made in 1998 -2002 where multiple data were used: interviews, field observations, text analysis, and a questionnaire. Later findings have been added to update. The results show that the funeral directors have acquired a professionalization by broadening their work tasks in different fields. Initially they took care of dead bodies and organized the logistics. In the last decades, new task areas have opened within the law, bereavement, and ceremonial rites. Of specific significance is that Swedish funeral directors seem reluctant to develop work tasks connected with the dead body; rather it is as public experts on death and bereavement that they want to be recognized. A step forward in this direction came with the public need for funeral directors in the aftermath of the tsunami.

“Funerals aren’t nice but it couldn’t have been nicer”. The makings of a good funeral

“…Funeral directors distinguished three core functions arising from that aim to carry the burden for the family. First, to offer guidance to the family; to act in a caring and pastoral role (Bailey, 2010;Bremborg, 2006;Dyson, 2008;Lensing, 2001); to facilitate and direct proceedings. They variously positioned themselves along this continuum, from orientation towards the pastoral role, My job and my brother's job and my sister's job is to put our hand out and say, come on, I'll hold your hand.…”

“…However, the rise in 'DIY' celebratory funerals has brought with it new disquiets: that the abandonment of traditional ritual has left mourners unable to express or manage their grief (Coward, 2002;Valentine, 2006); that an obsession with customer satisfaction leads to a mistaken interpretation of the funeral as a retail rather than existential event (Lynch, 2004); that funeral directors increasingly exercise their pastoral power to determine the parameters of 'healthy grieving' (Bremborg, 2006;Schafer, 2007); and that ministers of religion feel threatened by the rise in influence of the funeral director (Emke, 2002;Laderman, 2003) and struggle to incorporate personal meanings without trivialising (Long, 2009;Quartier, 2009). Contemporary ceremonies are depicted as spiritually barren with human services professionals failing to recognise the spiritual needs within the funeral of many cultural groups (Collins & Doolittle, 2006).…”

Cremation and present pasts: A contemporary archaeology of Swedish memory groves

“…This trend also makes sense in relation to the Church of Sweden's desire to show itself as caring for the dying and mourners in the face of ever-smaller congregations (Jeppsson Grassmen & Whitaker, 2007, their unique appearance perhaps not only a response to the distinctive churchyard environment but also the requirements and identities of local communities. 4 Memory groves also counteract the perceived absence of the body from the Swedish funerary process, affording a material presence otherwise 118 H. Williams lacking from mourners' experience (Bremborg, 2006;Walter, 2005). Therefore, since the 1970s and 1980s, these idyllic micro-landscapes designed for urban and suburban cemeteries have been adapted and 'down-sized' to be incorporated into rural churchyards.…”

An Outline of the History of Consumer Credit

“…Похоронные компании поэтому нацелены на развитие сферы услуг и персона-лизации ритуала. Например, типичными услугами похоронного агентства являются заказ билетов на самолёт и поезд для родственников, приезжающих из других городов, поиск и бронирование гостиниц для гостей, встреча гостей в аэропорту, кейтеринг, то есть еда, которая доставляется в зал прощания в церковь, и логистика, организация онлайн-трансляции прощания [Bremborg 2006]. Во Франции до определённого времени похоронный бизнес находился практически полностью под контролем местных муниципалитетов, которые регулировали похоронную сферу, а также отвечали за содержание и развитие кладбищ [Trompette 2011;.…”