Sarah Grace
The Impact of COVID-19 on Death and Funeral Practices in the U.S.
The COVID-19 pandemic significantly transformed how death, funerals, and body disposal were managed in the United States. Due to the sheer volume of deaths and safety concerns surrounding the bodies of those who died from COVID-19, traditional religious and cultural death rituals were disrupted (Armstrong, 2021). For instance, the Jewish practice of burying the deceased within 24 hours became difficult to follow due to delays in processing bodies, limited access to funeral homes, and public health restrictions (Graham, 2023). Practices such as washing, shrouding, and sitting vigil over the body—rituals that help families find closure—were often impossible to perform due to fears of virus transmission (Rawlings, et al., 2024).
Public health guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) advised avoiding embalming for those who died from COVID-19 and limited physical contact with the body (CDC, 2020). This impacted common American funeral practices, such as open-casket viewings and traditional farewells, where loved ones might touch or kiss the deceased. According to Terror Management Theory (TMT), these changes might have heightened death anxiety, as familiar rituals that help individuals manage existential fear were inaccessible (Pyszczynski, Greenberg, & Solomon, 1999). Without these traditional customs, individuals had fewer opportunities to experience the psychological comfort that comes from participating in culturally familiar death rituals.
The pandemic also disrupted communal grieving processes, which are critical for social support and emotional healing. Traditional gatherings, such as Christian visitations or Jewish Shiva, were restricted or moved online, leading to a shift toward virtual mourning (Graham, 2023). Symbolic Interactionism (Blumer, 1969) suggests that rituals and shared symbols help individuals make sense of death. By moving death rituals online, communities began to adapt new ways of constructing meaning around death. Funeral homes began offering live-streamed services, and social media became a primary platform for expressing condolences and memorializing the deceased (Rawlings et al., 2024).
These changes also reflect economic and practical considerations. Virtual funerals provide a lower-cost alternative to traditional services, which aligns with the growing demand for budget-conscious options in the U.S. (NFDA, 2021). This shift, initially prompted by necessity during the pandemic, is likely to persist, as many families now appreciate the flexibility of virtual attendance for loved ones unable to travel (Online funerals, nd).
From a psychological perspective, these changes have the potential to reshape how grief is processed in the long term. The Dual Process Model of Coping with Bereavement (Stroebe & Schut, 1999) suggests that individuals alternate between loss-oriented and restoration-oriented coping. Virtual funerals and alternative forms of mourning may aid in restoration-oriented coping by helping individuals adjust to new realities. However, the absence of traditional, in-person rituals may complicate the loss-oriented process, which involves confronting grief and receiving emotional support.
Click the links to learn more about funerals and COVID-19:
Coronavirus Is Changing Funerals And How We Deal With The Dead
References
Armstrong D. (2021). The COVID-19 pandemic and cause of death. Sociology of health & illness, 43(7), 1614–1626. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9566.13347
Graham, I. (2023). The Challenge of COVID-19 to Rituals around Death in Orthodoxy. Tois Pasin ho Kairos: Judaism and Orthodox Christianity Facing the Future.
Online funerals. (n.d.). Evergreen Mortuary, Cemetery and Crematory. Retrieved October 22, 2024, from http://www.evergreenmortuary-cemetery.com/what-we-do/online-funerals
Pyszczynski, T., Greenberg, J., & Solomon, S. (1999). A dual-process model of defense against conscious and unconscious death-related thoughts: An extension of terror management theory. Psychological Review, 106(4), 835–845
Rawlings, D., Miller-Lewis, L., & Tieman, J. (2024). Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Funerals: Experiences of Participants in the 2020 Dying2Learn Massive Open Online Course. Omega, 89(2), 429–451. https://doi.org/10.1177/00302228221075283
Stroebe, M., & Schut, H. (1999). The dual process model of coping with bereavement: Rationale and description. Death Studies, 23(3), 197-224.
