Religion and Spirituality

Religion and spirituality play an important role in shaping people’s experiences of death and dying. There is a longstanding and significant literature base relating to the sociology of religion. This chapter makes important connections between what that literature base teaches us and what we need to know to develop a sociological understanding of religion’s role in relation to death and dying. The chapter considers the role of spirituality as a key factor in its own right, not necessarily connected with religion, in recognition of the fact that there is a growing number of people identifying themselves as “spiritual but not religious.”