Turning to Waheguru: Religious and Cultural Coping Mechanisms of Bereaved Sikhs

Abstract

Grief and loss are universal experiences for all individuals and communities. The experience of a loss due to death and the bereavement process to follow are influenced by an individual's religious values and beliefs. In this article, we discuss the Sikh bereavement process in the United States. We provide brief personal narratives as exemplar case studies, highlight religious and cultural factors, and explain potential challenges of bereavement. Finally, we discuss implications for mental health clinicians and other providers of services that surround death and dying.

The Religion-Environment (Climate Change) Connection

“…Religion strongly influences worldviews (Goplen and Plant, 2015;Brinks, 2014) and determines people's perceptions, knowledge, and interpretations of socio-cultural, economic, political and even ecological realities. Acting as schemas, religious beliefs and orientations can determine one's response to stress-both physical and psychological (Park, 2005;Van Tongeren, 2018;Ahluwalia and Mohabir, 2017;Weiß and Süß, 2017;DeAngelis, Bartkowski and Xu, 2018), work and leadership demands (Garg, 2018;McGhee, 2017;Bakar, Cooke and Muenjohn, 2016;Hage and Posner, 2015), one's involvement in social movements and activism (Samta, 2018) and virtually all events and realities of life. Pew Research (2016) shows how religion features in peoples' everyday lives, influencing the way they relate with their extended families and com-munities.…”

An overview of the spiritual importances of end-of-life care among the five major faiths of the United Kingdom

“…Sikhism, one of the world's youngest religions, was founded by Guru Nanak Dev Ji in the Punjab, India, as a reaction to the growing inequalities due to the hierarchy of the caste system. 47,48 Sikhism's teachings were consolidated and expanded by the subsequent nine Gurus, 49 culminating in the Granth Sahib, a holy text, which to Sikhs represents a 'living Guru'. 2 Sikhism is a monotheistic religion and has several core values including equality, community service, striving to help others, and remembering God.…”

“…2 Sikhism is a monotheistic religion and has several core values including equality, community service, striving to help others, and remembering God. 47 Similarly to Hindus, Sikhs believe in reincarnation 50 and view their soul as eternal and therefore 47,51 view death as the predetermined fate of the soul in the cycle of reincarnation. 48 The fi ve Ks…”

“…The eyes are closed, limbs straightened, the family will want to arrange release of the body in order to ensure the five Ks remain intact, wash and shroud. 49,51 Sikh's believe that the soul is the person's essence and the body is merely the vessel that housed it; 47 therefore, prompt release of the body for cremation is the usual practice after death. 2 Key points on Sikhism and end of life are summarised in Box 5 .…”

Religious Rituals Performed by Muslim Palliative Caregivers in Turkey During the Grieving Process: An Exploratory Study

“…The study utilized a questionnaire that included 17 questions about the socio-demographic characteristics of the caregivers and patients and 13 questions about both their religious and cultural rituals during the mourning period. Questions regarding the rituals were generated from the literature (Okan, 2019 ; Ahluwalia & Mohabir, 2017 ; Düzgün et al, 2016 ; Ahaddour et al, 2020 ; Kuijt, 2020 ; Özel & Özkan, 2020 ) and a Google Scholar search using “religious and cultural practices in the mourning period in Turkey.”…”