Cremation Services Throughout History and Religions

In America, a third of all deaths result in cremation services. After the person dies, according to ceremony, the body is placed in a wooden casket or corrugated cardboard box for transport to the crematorium. It is then placed into an industrial furnace fueled by natural gas, propane or coal, which heats up to 1600 - 1800 degrees. After the two hour process, the 5.3 pounds of bone fragments and calcium phosphates are placed into a cremulator, which pulverizes the remains into sand-like ash. The ashes are then collected and placed into a plastic container, urn or other designated vessel.

Traditionally, cremation services were seen as a pagan ritual and were frowned upon by the Catholic church. According to dogma, the body becomes sacred as sacraments are received and therefore, should be preserved as best as possible. Just as Jesus was resurrected from the dead, so should we at the end of time. However, in the early 1900s, the idea spread that "God can resurrect a bowl of ashes just as conveniently as he can resurrect a deceased body." Now, incineration is performed in a third of all deaths in the US.

In Hinduism and Buddhism, cremation services (or "antim-samskara" meaning "last rites") are mandatory. It is believed that cremation detaches the fresh spirit from its earthly body and assists the passage to the next world. After a brief prayer service, the nearest male relative submerses the ashes in the holy Ganges River.

In Japan and Taiwan, 99% of the dead are cremated and the cremation ceremony is slightly different. Instead of pulverizing the bones to ash, the bone fragment remains are given to the family members and the relatives use chopsticks to pick up the fragments (starting with the feet and ending with the head) and transfer them to an urn. The remains are sometimes buried in a company cemetery or family burial plot for $2 million yen. For $400,000 yen, the bones are placed in a "Graveyard Apartment," which is a locker-sized unit. In this technologically savvy way to commemorate the departed, mourners are greeted by touch-screens with videos, messages, a family tree and other information.

In recent years, cremation services have received a bad wrap, primarily because the Nazis used fire to commit genocide against the Jews during WWII. As well, many unidentified bodies were tossed into a furnace after the Tsunami, leaving many bereft individuals unsure of what happened to their family members or friends. Despite these negative stigmas, incineration is still a sanitary and efficient method of body disposal. Whether buried in the ground or cremated, it is up to family and friends to carry their memory in their hearts.

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