If I Should Die before I Wake: Religious Commitment and Adjustment to the Death of a Child

This study employs the exchange and phenomenological perspectives in social theory to develop an empirical and analytical account of the relationship between religious commitment and parental adjustment following childhood death. This was accomplished in two ways: 1) by exploring the influence of religious commitment on bereavement adjustment as well as changes in commitment resulting from religion's effectiveness as a source of comfort; and 2) by examining the nature and effectiveness of theodicies constructed by parents to explain their child's death. In-depth interviews and questionnaires were used to gather data from 145 parents of children, treated for cancer or blood disorders at a large urban pediatric hospital, who died during 1975-79. Results showed that religious commitment is both cause and consequence of adjustment to bereavement in that religion can serve as a source of compensation for the loss of a child. Moreover, the analysis revealed the existence of three specific types of bereavement theodicies: 1) reunion with the child in an afterlife; 2) the child's death as serving a noble purpose; and 3) the death as a punishment for parental wrong-doing. The implications of these results for understanding the role of religion in the mourning process are discussed.