Are Americans “reconnecting” with Death?

May 6, 2026/Business/

Are Americans “reconnecting” with death? That is a strange question which will have different meanings for different people. And, if we are “reconnecting” with death, what might that mean for those of us who make our livings in the world of funerals, cremations, cemetery work, and memorialization? . . . . . Might it be a good thing?

First of all, I came upon this thought process after reading this article titled “Why the “Good Death” is having its moment: Candid conversations are reshaping life’s end.” It was written by Laura M. Holsten of the Stanford Center on Lengevity. I suggest you read it.

One of the points that struck me in the article was this fact about the growing trend of “Death Doulas”. According to the article, “Their ranks have grown sixfold between 2019 and 2024, from 260 to roughly 1,600, according to industry reports, reflecting a larger cultural shift around what it means to have a good death; that is, a peaceful passage not dominated by pain or fear that gives the dying person more agency over their last days. . . . “

To me, “Reconnecting with Death” simply means the idea of thinking about the humaness of who we are. We are going to die and the “reconnecting” part is having a say in that and also having a say in our wishes for memorialization on this planet – whatever that may be.

In my life as a funeral director I can remember that in the 1980’s, as the article points out, that three-quarters of the deaths that occured in America took place in sterile environments such as hospitals and nursing homes. As any funeral home can attest to at this time more and more Americans are choosing to die in the confines of their own homes, sometimes assisted by hospice practictioners and/or death doulas.

The following is a graph that, more or less, reflects the growth of hospice useage during my career as a funeral director.

And, this graph reflects, more or less, the anticipated increase in the use of hospice over the next decade.

Tom Anderson
Funeral Director Daily

Why this matters to Death Care: The article points out that the movement for a “Good Death” is not only coming from the people who are dying. It is also coming from young people who have grown up in a world of increasing violence and the pandemic. The article also states that these young people have grown up in an increasingly secular America — and more and more are relying on science, family, and popular culture to help make meaning of life — which also means, because of less church membership, there is no church affiliation and pastoral care to help them through the process.

My point of view is that Death Care needs to be in the picture when these people are contemplating the humaness of life, death, and grief — wherever it is — in hospice, in death cafes, in grief groups. If we simply stand back and are “order takers” for their final wishes after the fact we will lose. . ..but more importantly, those people struggling with their own mortality, and those struggling with how they will handle the grief will lose.

Death doulas can offer incredible intermediary roles for funeral homes with hospice patients or their children who may have grief needs of their own. Doulas can bridge the gap between what we as a profession have to offer and what a dying patient or their families may want.

My guess is that as this trend of “contemplative death” continues is that those funeral homes that just “sit back and wait for the phone to ring” after a death will be less and less busy and those funeral homes who have a death doula on staff or work with area hospices proactively on helping a dying patient or family feel comfortable about the memorializaion choices, will see their market share grow.