Cross-cultural beliefs, ceremonies, and rituals surrounding death of a loved one.

The purpose of this qualitative study was to describe practices surrounding death of a loved one by European, Asian, Caribbean, Central American, and South American families living in the United States. A focus group with 14 masters nursing students from a wide variety of cultural and religious backgrounds was conducted to gain a better understanding of the beliefs, ceremonies, and rituals surrounding death. Many commonalties were found across cultures and religions. A pervasive theme was that beliefs about the soul of the deceased lead families to perform rituals and ceremonies that foster passage to God, the "light," or another life. The stronger their beliefs, the more dedicated the family is in completing the rituals and ceremonies in the way dictated by their religion or culture. Participants had difficulty separating the influence of culture and religion on these practices.