Funeral Rites in the British Deaf Church: A Case of Disenfranchised Grief?

Abstract

This article is based on material collected as part of a PhD thesis, undertaken at the Centre for Deaf Studies at the University of Bristol, which focuses on funeral customs in the British Deaf Community. A particular custom related to mourning in the Deaf church is holding a religious memorial service for community members who have died, usually about a month after the funeral. This article explores why the memorial service has developed and why it continues to hold such an important place in the lives of this group of Deaf people. It examines this religious ritual in relation to Kenneth Doka's concept of ‘disenfranchised grief’ and suggests that the main reason for the importance of the memorial service to the Deaf Community is the frequent exclusion of Deaf mourners from full participation in funeral services.