Grief, Consolation, and Religions: A Conceptual Framework

Abstract

Consolation is grief's traditional amelioration, but contemporary bereavement theory lacks a conceptual framework to include it. The article begins to develop that framework. The article argues that grief is inter-subjective, even at the biological level. Consolation and grief happen in the same inter-subjective space. Material from the histories of several religions sets the article in a cross-cultural and historical environment. The article examines consolation in interpersonal relationships, and then moves to consolation in cultural/religious resources that range from the literal image of God as an idealized parent to the abstract architecture of Brahm's Requiem. The most common consolation in the histories of religions comes within continuing bonds that are accessed in a wide variety of beliefs, rituals, and devotional objects. The article closes by briefly drawing the connection between consolation and faith.