Studies of mortuary value system and its behavior: Columbarium Niche burial and natural burial as study cases in Taiwan

Abstract

Aim: This study focuses on current Taiwanese mortuary behavior and realizes the gap between mortuary value system and mortuary behavior, and explores the two formers relations with grief care. Eventually, this study provide mortuary policy suggestion to Taiwan government for reference.Method: This study adopts secondary analysis, field interview, and data thematic analysis. This study aims family members who lost their beloved within three years. There are 13 participators. 8 of participators adopted columbarium niche burial and 5 adopts natural burial. Findings: 1) The strategy of funeral arrangement is mostly made of lineal relatives; to be environmental friendly and sanitation and not to be troublesome to the bereaved are mainly reasons to choose burial ways. 2) The corpse mostly sent to a funeral home and erect the deceaseds memorial tablet; the number of people who do not send obituary and simplify total ritual to only 7 days have increased; and traditional wiping and bathing rites to the deceased seems losing its real function. 3) It is prejudicial to grief care while there is a gap between mortuary value and mortuary behavior.Implications/Novel Contribution: Overall, the research findings will provide for the Taiwan government to formulate natural burial policy. The government has to consider grief care of the deceaseds family while it considers the goal of environmental protection and sanitation. Besides, this research attempts to arouse funeral business, academy, and the governments attention to the negative influence on time and space compression of mortuary arrangement and then improve current situation.