Introduction / Colin Murray Parkes, Pittu Laungani and Bill Young -- Culture and religion / Colin Murray Parkes, Pittu Laungani and Bill Young -- Grief in small-scale societies / Paul C. Rosenblatt -- Death in a Hindu family / Pittu Laungani -- A death on the roof of the world : the perspective of Tibetan Buddhism / Uwe P. Gielen -- Jewish views and customs on death / Ellen Levine -- Christianity / Harold Ter Blanche and Colin Murray Parkes -- The many facets of Islam : death, dying and disposal between orthodox rule and historical convention / Gerdien Jonker -- Secularization / Tony Walter -- Childhood, death and bereavement across cultures / Bill Young and Danai Papadatou -- Help for the dying and bereaved / Colin Murray Parkes -- Conclusions I : implications for practice and policy / Pittu Laungani -- Conclusions II : attachments and losses in cross-cultural perspective / Colin Murray Parkes.