社会学评论. 2025, 13(2): 167-188.
Funeral services tend to become“commodified”and“de-publicized” in the process of modernization, and exploring the process and mechanism of dissolving their publicness is of great significance. Some studies reveal the abnormal expansion of the funeral market from the perspective of social policy, while others interpret the formation of high funeral consumption from the perspective of social psychology. These two explanations either overly focus on structure or place too much
emphasis on action, neglecting the complex interaction between structure and action in practical situations. To address this issue, this article uses the policy implementation theory and the“structure-process”analytical perspective, taking the
funeral practice in Beiming County as an example, and combines specific actions to reveal the evolution process of funeral service regulatory structures and funeral culture systems. At the same time, this article connects actions and rules in practical fields with macro-society and expands this individual case to the level of social structure. Consequently, it is discovered that a hierarchical administrative framework has established thresholds for funeral service regulation practices, gradually turning the funeral market into an unregulated enclave. In addition, socio-economic transformation has made funeral arrangements tend towards rationalization; their collusion with funeral vendors forces the bereaved to choose market services. The intertwined effect of these two factors undermines the public nature of funeral services.
