Burning the remains of a dead person. The practice was recorded in ancient Greece for soldiers killed in battle, and was later adopted by the Romans. Discouraged in the past by Christians because of its pagan associations, it is the regular form of disposal by Hindus. Today cremation is becoming more common in many countries, because of lack of space in cemeteries.
Cremation is the practice of disposing of a corpse by burning. Cremation and burial are the main ways of final disposition of the dead.
Cremation process
Cremation furnace
The place where the cremation takes place is called crematorium. A cremation furnace (crematory) is a large furnace capable of reaching high temperatures up to approximately 1600-1800 °F (870-980 °C) with special modifications to ensure the efficient disintegration of the corpse.
The crematorium may be part of chapel or a funeral home, or it may be part of an independent facility or a service offered by a cemetery. Modern cremation furnaces include control systems that monitor the conditions inside the furnace while a cremation is taking place.
A cremation furnace is not designed to cremate more than one body at a time, and to do so is against the law in all 50 US states and many other nations.
The chamber where the body is placed is called the retort.
Modern cremators are computer-controlled with safety devices and interlocks to ensure legal and safe use, e.g., the door cannot be opened until the cremator has reached the correct operating temperature. The coffin may be on a motorised trolley that can inject the coffin at speed, or one that can tilt to tip the coffin down a slope into the cremator. Large cities will have access to an oversize cremator that can handle deceased in the 200+ kg range.
Body container
A body to be cremated is first placed in a container for cremation, which can be a simple corrugated cardboard box or a wooden casket. Most casket manufacturers provide a line of caskets specially built for cremation. After the funeral service the interior box is removed from the shell before cremation, permitting the shell to be reused.
Funeral homes may also offer rental caskets, which are traditional caskets used only for the duration of the services, after which the body is transferred to another container for cremation. Handles (if fitted) are plastic and approved for use in a cremator.
Cremations can be 'delivery only' with no preceding chapel service at the crematorium (although a church service may have been held) or preceded by a service in one of the crematorium chapels.
Burning and ashes collection
The box containing the body is placed in the retort and incinerated at a temperature of 760 to 1150 °C (1400 to 2100 °F). During the cremation process, a large part of the body (especially the organs) and other soft tissue is vaporized due to the heat and is discharged through the exhaust system. All that remains after cremation are bone fragments, representing about five percent of the body's original mass. A pacemaker could explode and damage the cremator.
This is one of the reasons cremated remains are called ashes although a technical term sometimes used is "cremains". An unavoidable consequence of cremation is that a tiny residue of bodily remains is left in the chamber after cremation and mixes with subsequent cremations.
The Pyre alternative
An alternative method used in some cultures, such as Hinduism, is burning the corpse on a pyre.
Ways of keeping or disposing of the cremated remains
Cremated remains are returned to the next of kin in a rectangular plastic container, contained within a further cardboard box or velvet sack. An official certificate of cremation prepared under the authority of the crematorium accompanies the remains.
Cremated remains can be kept in an urn, sprinkled on a special field or in the sea, or buried in the ground.
Hinduism obliges the closest male relative (son, father, husband, etc.) of the deceased to immerse the cremated remains in the holy river Ganges, preferably at the holy city of Haridwar, India.
In Japan and Taiwan, the remaining bone fragments are given to the family and are used in a burial ritual before final interment.
History
Cremation first appears in the Levant in the Neolithic, but declines with Semitic settlement of the area in the 3rd millennium. Cremation was widely regarded as barbaric in the Ancient Near East, to be used only by necessity in times of plague. The Babylonians, according to Herodotus, embalmed their dead, and the Zoroastrian Persians punished capitally even attempted cremation, with special regulations for the purification of fire so desecrated.
In Europe, there are traces of cremation dating to the Early Bronze Age (ca. In the Iron Age, inhumation becomes again more common, but cremation persisted in the Villanovan culture and elsewhere. Homer's account of Patroclus' burial describes cremation with subsequent burial in a tumulus similar to Urnfield burials, qualifying as the earliest description of cremation rites. Early cremation may have been connected to ideas of fire sacrifice, such as those to Taranis in Celtic paganism (see human sacrifice).
Hinduism is notable for not only allowing but prescribing cremation. Cremation in India is first attested in the Cemetery H culture (from ca.
Cremation was common, but not universal, in both Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome. Christianity frowned upon cremation, both influenced by the tenets of Judaism, and in an attempt to abolish Graeco-Roman pagan rituals. By the 5th century, the practice of cremation had practically disappeared from Europe.
The modern cremation movements began only in 1873, with the presentation of a cremation chamber by Paduan Professor Brunetti at the Vienna Exposition. In Britain, the movement found the support of Queen Victoria's surgeon, Sir Henry Thompson, who together with colleagues founded the Cremation Society of England in 1874. Cremation was declared as legal in England and Wales when Dr William Price was prosecuted for cremating his son; formal legislation followed later with the passing of the Cremation Act 1902, (this Act did not extend to Ireland) which imposed procedural requirements before a cremation could occur and restricted the practice to authorised places. Some of the various Protestant churches came to accept cremation, with the rationale being, "God can resurrect a bowl of ashes just as conveniently as he can resurrect a bowl of dust". In 1963, Pope Paul VI lifted the ban on cremation, and in 1966 allowed Catholic priests to officiate at cremation ceremonies.
Reasons for choosing cremation
People choose cremation for a variety of reasons, including religious reasons, other personal reasons, environmental reasons, and cost.
Dharmic faiths
While the Abrahamic religions prohibit cremation or prefer burial over cremation, the Eastern religions (i.e., Dharmic faiths) such as Hinduism and Buddhism mandate the use of cremation. However, two exceptions to cremation apply in Hinduism. In Sikhism, burial is not prohibited although cremation is the preferred option.
Christian
In Christian countries, cremation fell out of favour. The Catholic Church's discouragement of cremation stemmed from several ideas: first, that the body, as the instrument through which the sacraments are received, is itself a sacramental, a holy object; second that as an integral part of the human person (St. Thomas Aquinas, for instance, specifically rejected the notion that the human person is merely the soul "trapped" in a body) it should be disposed of in a way that honors and reverences it, and many early practices involved with disposal of dead bodies were viewed as pagan in origin or an insult to the body; and fourth, that because cremation was often seen as or used as a statement by certain groups denying the resurrection, allowing it would confuse the faithful. The Church never forbid cremation because of any alleged belief that it interfered with God's ability to resurrect the body.
Cremation was, in fact, not forbidden in and of itself - even in Medieval Europe cremation was practised in situations where there were multitudes of corpses simultaneously present, such as after a battle, after a pestilence or famine, and where there was an imminent danger of diseases spreading from the corpses. However, earth burial or entombment remained the law unless there were circumstances that required cremation for the public good.
Beginning in the Middle Ages, and even more so in the 18th Century and later, rationalists and classicists began to advocate cremation again as a statement denying the resurrection and/or the afterlife. The Catholic Church's rules against cremation became hardened in the face of this. The Catholic Church still officially prefers the traditional burial or entombment of the deceased, but cremation is now freely permitted as long as it is not done to express a refusal to believe in the resurrection of the body.
Until 1997, Catholic liturgical regulations required that cremation take place after the funeral Mass, so that, if possible, the body might be present for the Mass - the body was present as a symbol, and to receive the blessings and be the subject of prayers in which it is mentioned. Once the Mass itself was concluded, the body could be cremated and a second service could be held at the crematorium or cemetery where the ashes were to be interred just as for a body burial.
Protestant churches were much more welcoming of the use of cremation and at a much earlier date than the Catholic Church.
On the other hand, some branches of Christianity still oppose cremation. The Eastern Orthodox Churches, for instance, forbid cremation. Exceptions are made for circumstances where it may not be avoided (when civil authority demands it, or epidemics) or if it may be sought for good cause, but when a cremation is willfully chosen for no good cause by the one who is deceased, he or she is not permitted a funeral in the church and may also be permanently excluded from liturgical prayers for the departed. In Orthodoxy, cremation is a rejection of the dogma of the general resurrection, and as such is viewed harshly.
Judaism
Judaism has traditionally disapproved of cremation, as it was the traditional means of disposing the dead in the neighbouring Bronze Age Pagan Semitic cultures, but also disapproved of preservation of the dead by means of embalming and mummifying, as the Egyptians did. During the 19th and early 20th centuries, as the Jewish cemeteries in many European towns had become crowded and were running out of space, cremation became an approved means of burial amongst the Liberal Jews.
The Orthodox Jews have maintained a stricter line on cremation, and disapprove of it as Halakha (Jewish law) forbids it, considering a soul of a cremated person will remain as a restless wanderer for eternity. Also, the memory of the Holocaust, where millions of Jews were murdered and their bodies disposed by burning them either in crematoria or burning pits, has given cremation extremely negative connotations in the minds of Orthodox Jews, who often view it as blasphemy.
Mormonism
Since the organization of the Church in 1830, Latter-day Saints have been encouraged by their leaders to avoid cremation, unless it is required by law, and, wherever possible, to consign the body to burial in the earth and leave the dissolution of the body to nature, "for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return" (Gen.
To understand the LDS feeling about cremation, it is essential to understand the doctrine of the Church regarding the body.
Zoroastrianism
Zoroastrians have traditionally prohibited cremation, on the grounds of the sacred nature of fire. As modern hygiene regulations prohibit this means of body disposal in many countries, Zoroastrians either favour conventional burials, while some sects do allow cremation, though this is forbidden by the Gathas. In addition, Rajiv Gandhi received a well-publicized cremation on a sandalwood pyre, and he too was Parsi (though maternally of Hindu descent).
Neopaganism
According to Feminist interpretations of the archaeological record, cremation is the usual means of burial in Patriarchal religions, the rising smoke symbolizing the deceased's spirit ascending to the domain of the Father deities in the heavens, while Matriarchal religions are speculated to have favoured interment of the corpse, often in a fetal position, representing the return of the body to Mother Earth in the tomb which represents the uterus. Of modern Neo-Pagan religions, Ásatrú favours cremation.
List of religions that permit cremation
Ásatrú, Buddhism, Christianity (containing Baptist Church, Calvinism, Church of England, Church of Ireland, Church of Scotland, Church in Wales, Lutheranism, Methodism, Moravian Church, Roman Catholicism, Salvation Army, Scottish Episcopal Church), Christian Science, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) (permitted but not encouraged), Hare Krishna (ISKCON), Hinduism (mandatory except for sanyasis, eunuchs and children under five), Jainism, Jehovah's Witnesses, Liberal Judaism, Seventh-day Adventist Church, Sikhs, Society of Friends (Quakers), Unitarian Universalism
List of religions that forbid cremation
Eastern Orthodox Church, Iglesia ni Cristo, Islam, Orthodox Judaism, Southern Baptist Convention, Zoroastrianism
Neo-Confucianism under Zhu Xi strongly discourages cremation of one's parents' corpses as unfilial.Other personal reasons
Some people find they prefer cremation for other reasons. The thought of a long, slow decomposition process is unappealing to some, and they find that they prefer cremation for that reason.
Other people view cremation as a way of simplifying their funeral process. These people view a traditional burial as an unneeded complication of their funeral process, and thus choose cremation to make their services as simple as possible.
Environmental reasons
Others prefer cremation for environmental reasons.
Another environmental concern is that traditional burial takes up a great deal of space.
One item of concern has been that the exhaust systems of cremation ovens may contribute to air pollution. Additionally some crematoria remove all plastic handles and fittings from a coffin before cremation and these are disposed of separately for the same reason.
Cost of cremation
The cost factor tends to make cremation attractive. Generally speaking, cremation costs less than traditional burial services, especially if direct cremation is chosen, in which the body is cremated as soon as legally possible without any sort of services. However, there is wide variation in the cost of cremation services, having mainly to do with the amount of service desired by the deceased or the family. A cremation can take place after a full traditional funeral service, which adds cost.
Cremation makes possible the scattering of remains over an area, eliminating the need for and expense of a burial space. However, some religions such as Roman Catholicism require burial or entombment of cremated remains, and while not required the church does prefer that cremation take place after the funeral Mass. Cremated remains require far less space than a traditional burial or entombment and cremation plots or columbarium niches usually cost less than a burial plot or mausoleum crypt.
Environmental Concerns with Cremation
There is a growing body of research that indicates cremation has a significant impact on the environment:
The major emissions from crematories are: nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, particulate matter, mercury, hydrogen fluoride (HF), hydrogen chloride (HCl), NMVOCs, and other heavy metals, in addition to Persistent Organic Pollutants.
Negative recent history experiences with cremation
World War II
During the Holocaust, massive crematoria were constructed and operated round-the-clock by the Nazis within their concentration camps and extermination camps to dispose of the bodies of thousands of Jews, Gypsies, and other prisoners who were killed or died in the camps daily. In addition to the atrocity of mass murder, the remains of Jews were thus disposed of in a manner deeply offensive to Orthodox Judaism because Halakha, the Jewish law, forbids cremation and holds that the soul of a cremated person cannot find its final repose. Since then, cremation has carried an extremely negative connotation for many Jews.
The Tri-State Crematory Incident
A recent controversial event involved the failure to cremate, known as the Tri-State Crematory Incident.
Eventually Ray Brent Marsh - who was the operator at the time the bodies were discovered - had 787 criminal charges filed against him.
Civil suits were filed against the Marsh family as well as a number of funeral homes who shipped bodies to Tri-State.
Authorities had difficulties dealing with the large numbers of bodies, and as a result thousands of bodies were of necessity cremated together. Many of these bodies were not identified or viewed by relatives prior to cremation, which would have helped families better cope with their grief.
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