MARCH 28, 2003

WAR
Death, grief and the aftermath of war casualties

With war comes death. And with war deaths come grief and agonizing questions about why, how and what now? For family members and for a nation, faith, belief and ritual can play critical roles. ReligionLink offers a multitude of resources to help reporters write about casualties, their effect on families and the public, and the many questions related to how clergy, religious groups and the military help in the aftermath.

Private and public grief
Congregations and clergy
Military
Burial, funerals and faith

PRIVATE AND PUBLIC GRIEF
Most grief is private and personal, but war deaths have a very public dimension. That raises issues for families, as well as Americans at large. Public acknowledgment of the deaths and of the importance of the victims' lives can help loved ones' healing. Experts say that all Americans can feel grief and anxiety over the losses and stresses of war and that forms of public grieving - whether they are local observances, televised services or makeshift memorials - can help people sort out what they are feeling.

But grieving deaths in the war with Iraq presents challenges, experts say, because not everyone agrees that the war is just. As the number of deaths increases, other issues arise. On one hand, people's ability to empathize can be overloaded and they can begin to feel like detached spectators. If there are so many deaths that it is difficult to convey a sense of each victim's individuality, some victims may be singled out as symbols of the fallen soldiers. And finally, the deaths may become political symbols if opinions about the war become more deeply divided.

Here are issues and expert interview sources across the country.

Issues
• One trend in worship and secular observances has been a return of the importance of ritual, particularly for young people. In what rituals - either sacred or secular - do grieving people find meaning? Are the rituals time-tested ones of the past, or are new rituals emerging?
• Many of the meaningful ways that war dead have been remembered - memorials, flag-draped coffins - are secular. Yet this war has had religious dimensions, and the United States is a religiously diverse country. In what ways are people finding comfort in their faith? In what ways do people of different faiths honor their dead? Are people put off or offended by certain public expressions of grief?
• Grief plays out at several levels, from the very private to the very public. Religion sociologist Nancy Ammerman suggests that reporters examine how a family grieves a war death privately, how a congregation grieves with them, and then how the larger public community honors a death, and the ways faith is woven into all three.
• As Good Friday and Easter approach, reporters can explore themes of death and grieving as they relate to war and the Christian holidays.

Click the map for interview sources in your state and region

National sources
• The Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors is a national support group for those who have lost a loved one in the line of military duty. Contact founder and president Bonnie Carroll, 800-959-8277.
• The Hospice Foundation of America is conducting a national teleconference on April 30 about "Living with Grief: Coping with Public Tragedy," with many broadcast sites that will feature their own panels of local experts. Find a site near you.
• Dr. Nancy Ammerman is a religion sociologist at the Hartford Institute for Religion Research in Connecticut. She says individual families will likely grieve in private, surrounded by supportive communities, but that communities will have a more difficult time deciding on shared public expressions of grief because of divided opinions about the war. Contact 860-509-9545, nta@hartsem.edu.
• Donna Schuurman is the executive director of The Dougy Center, a national center for grieving children and families in Portland, Ore. She is also former president of the Association for Death Education and Counseling. She can discuss the special needs of grieving children, including those mourning a casualty of war. Contact 503-775-5683, donna@dougy.org.
• Kathleen Gilbert is an associate professor of applied health science at Indiana University and a leading expert on grief and on the effect of trauma on families. She can discuss the long-term effects of war on families, the trauma facing battle combatants and their families, and the grief and anger clergy and others may feel at losing people in a conflict they oppose. Contact 812-855-5209, gilbertk@indiana.edu.
• Adem Carroll is the 9/11 crisis relief program coordinator for the Islamic Circle of North America in Jamaica, N.Y. He connect reporters with imams who can discuss the Islamic response to grief and grieving war casualties. Contact 718-658-7028, 917-602-4450 (cell) or Iamourhaj@aol.com.
• The Rev. Jackson Day is executive director of the National Conference of Viet Nam Veteran Ministers. The site lists contact information for veteran ministers across the country. Contact 508-222-7313, jacksonday@home.com.

CONGREGATIONS AND CLERGY
Congregations and clergy always offer important support when a family experiences a death, but deaths in war - particularly a war that many churches have opposed - raise complex issues. Here are issues to examine and resources:

Click the map for interview sources in your state and region

Issues
• The vast majority of religious denominations took official stands opposing war in Iraq, sometimes quite vehemently. Talk to churches about how they minister to military families - particularly when war claims a member - while still expressing opposition to the war. Talk to families about how they feel supported in denominations in which leaders have spoken out against the war.
• Many churches embrace patriotism during war by displaying flags and singing patriotic songs. Talk to these churches about how they balance focusing on God while also supporting country.
• How are congregations of all faiths supporting military families? In what ways is that support different than in past conflicts?

Background
• FaithandValues.com maintains an alphabetical listing of denominations and their official statements on the war with Iraq.
• The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life has a list of statements made by denominations about the war.
• The Kentucky Council of Churches, an organization of 11 Christian denominations, has complied a list of resources for pastors and churches dealing with war issues, including ministering to the grieving.

MILITARY
The military plays a critical role for families when there are war deaths, from notifying and supporting them to transporting bodies home and facilitating burial. Religious services are left to families, but military chaplains - trained to minister to all faiths - are available to help. Here is a list of resources:

Faith makeup of the military
Here are the most current general religious preferences of service members in the U.S. armed forces, according to the Department of Defense Manpower Data Center. U.S. officials say numbers vary slightly from month to month because people complete military service and leave the system.

• Read about military honors funerals, including links for filing paperwork, burial flags and other resources for families and funeral directors.
• Consult the Department of the Navy Naval Historical Center's guide to Navy burial at sea.
• The National Cemetery Administration lists more than 30 religious insignias available for the headstones of soldiers of different beliefs.
• The Society of Military Widows maintains chapters in most states and works to support the widows of war dead.

Military chaplaincy resources

• The Military Chaplains' Association of the United States of America serves as the professional organization for chaplains of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Department of Veterans Affairs and Civil Air Patrol and includes members of all faith groups. Contact 703-276-2189 or chaplains@mca-usa.org. • The Virginia-based American Muslim Armed Forces and Veterans Affairs Council serves Muslim military personnel and veterans. Contact info@amafandvac.org. • The National Conference on Ministry to the Armed Forces is a Virginia-based organization that recruits, endorses and provides oversight for chaplains in all branches of the military. Contact 703-276-7905 or jack@ncmaf.org. • U.S. Army Chaplain Center and School. • U.S. Air Force Chaplain Service. • United States Navy Chaplain Corps. • U.S. Marine Corps Chief Chaplain.

BURIAL, FUNERALS AND FAITH
Burial and funerals are complicated in America because of the wide array of faiths people follow and the sometimes strict rites required by them. Here are some questions to examine and resources:
• Some faiths, including Judaism and Islam, require that bodies be buried within a short time frame - a difficult requirement during wartime.
• See the faith makeup of the U.S. Armed Forces.
• American families frequently include members of more than one faith, and extended family and friends almost always do. Opinions differ on whether funerals should be catered toward the faith of the deceased, the faith of family members, or both if they are different, and whether it is most important to comfort the grieving with one faith's tenets or whether they should attempt to be inclusive of the many kinds of faith the people attending may follow.
• Gary Laderman is a professor of American religious history in the religion department at Emory University in Atlanta. He is the author of the book The Sacred Remains: American Attitudes Toward Death, 1799-1883 (Yale University Press, 1996) and Rest in Peace: A Cultural History of Death and the Funeral Home in 20th Century America (Oxford University Press, 2003). He says that if this war is short, it is unlikely there will be the kind of politicization of the dead that occurred in the Vietnam War. But if the war is lengthy, and the toll mounts, the deaths could become a point of contestation with the public. He can also address the role that religion in funeral services plays in helping people heal. Contact 404-727-4641, gladerm@emory.edu.
• The Archdiocese of Chicago presents a guide to Catholic funeral practices.
• This guide to the Catholic burial service is compiled by six Catholic communities in southern Washington state.
• Protestant burial customs differ widely because of the great diversity of faith and practice among churches. Read a broad guide to Protestant and other funerals at the web site of a monument maker.
• For information on the complex funeral rites and requirements for Muslims, search for "Rules About Burial of the Dead Body" and "Rules Related to a Dying Person."
• Read a description of Jewish death and funeral customs from the United Jewish Communities.
• The Jewish Funeral Directors of America maintain a state-by-state listing of Jewish funeral homes.
• The elements of Orthodox Christian burial are explained by the Holy Trinity Cathedral in San Francisco here.
• See detailed guides to Tibetan, Thai, and Chinese Buddhist funeral traditions and rituals at Buddhanet.Net Buddhist Information and Education Network.