Veneration of the dead
The veneration of the dead, including one's ancestors, is based on love and respect for the deceased. In some cultures, it is related to beliefs that the dead have a continued existence, and may possess the ability to influence the fortune of the living. Some groups venerate their direct, familial ancestors. Certain religious groups, in particular the Eastern Orthodox Churches, Catholic Church and Anglican Church venerate saints as intercessors with God; the latter also believes in prayer for departed souls in Purgatory. Other religious groups, however, consider veneration of the dead to be idolatry and a sin.
"Cult of the dead" redirects here. For other uses, see Cult of the dead (disambiguation).In European, Asian, Oceanian, African and Afro-diasporic cultures (which includes but should be distinguished from multiple cultures and Indigenous populations in the America's who were never influenced by the African Diaspora), the goal of ancestor veneration is to ensure the ancestors' continued well-being and positive disposition towards the living, and sometimes to ask for special favours or assistance. The social or non-religious function of ancestor veneration is to cultivate kinship values, such as filial piety, family loyalty, and continuity of the family lineage. Ancestor veneration occurs in societies with every degree of social, political, and technological complexity, and it remains an important component of various religious practices in modern times.
Judaism[edit]
Judaism, like Islam, has a complicated relationship to ancestor veneration/worship, grave shrines, and other related concepts. It is thought ancient Israelite religion and Pre-Israelite Cannanites practiced a form of ancestor worship in which ancestors were raised to the status of gods, and some form of similar practice was likely seen as acceptable in Israelite religion until King Josiah's reign.[51] In Biblical literature, and in contemporary prayer, the ancestors, particularly Abraham, Moses, Aaron, Jacob/Israel, or "the Patriarchs" and "the Matriarchs", are often referred to. Stress is placed on the identity of the Jewish people as being the "seed", "house", or "children" of these figures.[52]
Two prayers- Kaddish and Yizkor- are recited on behalf of the dead by Rabbinic Jews, including on anniversaries of a death. For some, the performance of prayers, especially prayers in their first year after death from their children, are thought to positively impact God's judgement of them, as well as donations and other good works done in their name. This is similar to Japanese practices and other ancestral veneration practices overall.[52] These good deeds done in the name of the dead are reciprocated by the dead's prayers to God for the living.[53][54] There are taboos and injunctions the living must follow, particularly in regard to their direct ancestors: not to use the remains of coffin wood for other purposes, to bury the dead in a proper shroud, and not to eat or drink at the beginning and/or close of Shabbat, as that is when spirits of the dead are believed to eat, drink, and bathe. One who eats during this time has stolen from the spirits, and one who drinks at the beginning of Shabbat risks ingesting contaminated bathing water.[53]
Ashkenazi Jews commonly name children after dead relatives, and are hoped to embody those dead's positive traits. Eastern European Jews specifically transform the concept of zechut avot- the merit of one's ancestors, used to explain both a belief that the dead pray on behalf of the deceased, and a prayer to God to remember the good deeds of one's ancestors and be merciful in judgement- into the related idea of yichus ovus, inherited ancestral status.[52]
In contemporary Rabbinic Judaism, visiting the graves of tzaddikim (righteous figures akin to saints) has long remained popular, including the graves of ancestral figures like Abraham and Esther.[54] These visits may also be accompanied by petitions of the dead, as their elevated status is thought to give them more direct access to God.[53] Rabbinic Jews stress that they do not worship the dead, and only respect and honor them- a distinction made by other cultures, including Japanese[52] and African cultures.[55]
