Today in Germany, religion and the churches forfeit their sovereignty of interpretation and ritual concerning death and dying. The funeral director is the first point of contact when death occurs. Therefore he or she is able to influence the relationship between the living and the dead. In the course of this development, the dead body, often referred to as dirty and dangerous, is being sanitized by funeral directors. Funeral directors credit the dead body with a certain quality; they claim that facing the dead may lead to religious or spiritual experiences, and therefore they encourage the public viewing of the dead – a practice which was, and still is not very common in Germany. The new connotation of the dead body is an example for the dislimitation of religion in modern society. The religious framing of death-related practises no longer exclusively belongs to traditional religious institutions and actors, but can take place in commercial business companies as well.
A content analysis was performed on funeral directors' journal articles for the years 1905, 1939, and 1963. The funeral directors showed distinct theoretical orientations for the respective time periods under consideration: in 1905, theory was presented in the form of a “sanitizing” orientation; in 1939 it had a “naturalizing” orientation; and in 1963, it had a “sympathizing” orientation. Possible reasons for the change are conjectured on three levels: interprofessional, intraprofessional, and supraprofessional.
This chapter brings together testimonies about the diverse social roles and vocations which Enoch allegedly exercised among his contemporaries during the antediluvian era. These include descriptions of Enoch functioning as a teacher, a prophet, an expert on proper religious behaviors, a ruler or lawgiver, a builder, a warrior, a hermit, a funeral director, a sorcerer’s apprentice, and as the designated heir or legatee of his father Yared.
