A funeral rite that follows a prescribed ritual or ceremony dictated by religious beliefs or social customs of a society is called?

• A. Traditional
• B. Adaptive
• C. Ceremonial
• D. Secular

Answer: (A)

A traditional funeral rite emphasizes the long-standing customs and practices handed down within a culture, rooted in shared religious beliefs or social norms. It reflects what a society has historically considered proper in mourning and disposition, guiding the sequence of rites, prayers, and ceremonies as a norm rather than as a one-time adaptation. This makes it the best fit for a rite that is dictated by inherited beliefs and customs of a community.

Ceremonial focuses on the formal event itself, which can be part of tradition but doesn’t by itself capture the aspect of inherited, time-honored practices. Adaptive implies changing the rites to fit current circumstances, and secular denotes non-religious rites, which don’t align with the idea of beliefs or social customs dictating the procedure.