Prayer for the dead
Religions with the belief in a final judgment, a resurrection of the dead or an intermediate state (such as Hades or purgatory) often offer prayers on behalf of the dead to God.[1]
Buddhism[edit]
For most funerals that follow the tradition of Chinese Buddhism, common practices include chanting the name of Amitabha, or reciting Buddhist scriptures such as the Sutra of The Great Vows of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, Amitabha Sutra, Diamond Sutra or a combination of classic Buddhist scriptures, such as the Great Compassion Mantra, the Heart Sutra, the Amitabha Pure Land Rebirth Mantra and Sapta Atitabuddha Karasaniya Dharani (or Qi Fo Mie Zui Zhen Yan 七佛滅罪真言).[2][3]
Other practices include Ritsu offer refuge, Pure Land Buddhists nianfo or chant Pure Land Rebirth Dhāraṇī and Tibetan Buddhists chant Om mani padme hum repeatedly.[4][5][6][7][8][9][10] Prayers such as Namo Ratnasikhin Tathagata are for animals.[11][12]
Christianity[edit]
New Testament[edit]
A passage in the New Testament which is seen by some to be a prayer for the dead is found in 2 Timothy 1:16–18, which reads as follows:
Hinduism[edit]
In Hinduism there are funeral speeches with prayers for the dead.[50][51][52] Many of these funeral speeches are read out from the Mahabharata, usually in Sanskrit. Family members will pray around the body as soon as possible after death. People try to avoid touching the corpse as it is considered polluting.
Zoroastrianism[edit]
Zoroastrians chant prayers for the dead in their funeral ceremonies, asking God to forgive the deceased.[64]
Other religions[edit]
Many spiritual traditions have prayers for the dead as part of their liturgy, whether these prayers are salutational, to welcome the spirits of the deceased, or to remember their names.
African Traditional and Diasporic traditions often have incorporated ancestral veneration practices. In orisha based traditions, the mojuba is the praise chant which praises Olodumare, the orishas, the religious lineage, the blood lineage of ancestors, and the various other beings of the universe.