Rituals of the Last Farewell in Contemporary Czech Society

The article is focused on a sub-aspect of the broad topic of the accompaniment of the dying and the bereaved. It presents results of the research into the current ritual practices of the rites of the last farewell. The main aim of the research was to combine methodological perspectives of the anthropological study of rituals with the studies of contemporary (post)modern spirituality. The key research question was aimed at the influence of spirituality on the current ritual praxis. A qualitative probe into the experience of participants for whom accompanying is part of their profession showed strong link between conviction about the importance of rituals and their spiritual background. The research also confirmed the hypothesis about the basic characteristic of postmodern spirituality of participants, primarily its individualisation and deinstitutionalisation.