Back to Interesting Facts

"What is done at a deathbed follows from what is thought to be difficult about dying." Last Rites is formally linked to three religions in this atlas, Buddhism, Christianity and Islam, and this page's own text gives each of the three a genuinely distinct account.

A Catholic Sequence the Popular Name Gets Wrong

Christianity's own entry for Roman Catholicism names the sequence precisely: "the deathbed sequence of this church is penance, anointing and Viaticum, and the popular name attaches to the anointing, which is not in fact reserved for the dying." This page's own description adds that "the last sacrament properly speaking is Viaticum, communion given as food for the journey."

A Declaration Timed to Be the Last Word, and Days of Instruction

"In Muslim practice those present prompt the dying person to say the declaration of faith so it may be the last thing said, and a chapter of the Qur'an is commonly recited." Buddhism's account, Tibetan practice specifically, runs differently again: "Tibetan Buddhist practice addresses instructions to the dying and the newly dead over days, on the view that the person can still hear and still decide."

A Fourth Custom, Described With No Formal Link to Match

The same description also states that "Hindu custom puts water from a sacred river and a leaf of holy basil in the mouth and reads from scripture," with no formal link to Hinduism recorded anywhere on this page. Named here rather than silently added to the three the atlas does formally link.

Where To Read More

• Last RitesFunerary RitualsThe shared occasion; three counted religions each with a distinct account, a fourth described with no edge
• ChristianityAbrahamic (Monotheistic)A three part deathbed sequence the popular name misattaches
• Roman CatholicismChristianityNames the three part sequence directly: penance, anointing, Viaticum
• IslamAbrahamic (Monotheistic)A declaration of faith timed to be the last words spoken, a recited chapter of the Quran
• BuddhismDharmic (Nontheistic)Tibetan practice addressing instructions to the dying and the newly dead over several days