Shepherds of Loss: Religion and Grief in the Shenandoah Valley

Authors

Ewan BenjaminFollow

Document Type

Honors Project

First Advisor

Dr. Harriet Hayes

Second Advisor

Dr. Skip Burzumato

Third Advisor

Dr. Carol Scheppard

Degree Award Date

Spring 5-3-2025

Keywords

Christianity, religion, grief, death, loss, dying, Catholicism, Russian Orthodoxy, Reformed Judaism, Unitarian Universalism, Church of the Brethren, hospital chaplaincy

Disciplines

Christian Denominations and Sects | Christianity | Family, Life Course, and Society | Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion | Social and Cultural Anthropology | Sociology of Religion

Abstract

This study explores the relationship between faith leaders and religious communities with the human experience of grief, death, and loss. Inspired by the researcher's own experience, this paper argues that the United States has a generally uncomfortable relationship with death and hypothesizes that religious traditions can serve to assist with grief in a positive way. After interviewing six religious leaders in the Shenandoah Valley, two themes arose: the mystery of death and the concept of "making space" for the grieving, dying, and dead. In the paper's conclusion, the faith leaders make known their own concerns with death in the United States, and the researcher reflects on whether religion is beneficial to the death experience.

Recommended Citation

Benjamin, Ewan, "Shepherds of Loss: Religion and Grief in the Shenandoah Valley" (2025). Honors Projects. 927.
https://digitalcommons.bridgewater.edu/honors_projects/927

Force Open Access

1