Benefits of Cremation

Benefits of Cremation

Cremation vs. burial, has been an on-going debate for many years. Lately, cremation has been winning the battle as the more popular choice. The American cremation rate has been steadily on the rise for the past 30 years. 2015 marked the first time the cremation rate was higher than the burial rate in the United States. 
Funeral Home And Cremations Benefits Cremation Fernandina Beach
So, why choose cremation? Everyone has their own personal reasons for choosing cremation, but we have noticed 6 key benefits of cremation that we have outlined below:

1) Cost 

On average, cremation is generally 45-50% cheaper than burial. Cremation allows you to avoid the big purchases of items such as a headstone and a casket. 

2) Environmental Concerns

Cremation is considered to be more environmentally friendly than burial. Often the deceased is embalmed using harsh chemicals for a wake before he/she is buried. People have been concerned that these chemicals can seep through a casket and create water and soil pollution. Secondly, burial plots take up land space and disturbs the Earth to inter a casket. Crematories on the other hand, do release carbon emissions into the air, but new technology is really starting to reduce both the amount and impact. 

3) Cemetery Availability

Cemetery plots are becoming more and more scarce. The cemetery you wish to be buried at may not have plots available when you pass. Also, since the supply of burial plots shrinks, the cost of them has been on the rise. Cremation allows you to avoid the trouble of finding a burial plot. 

4) Simplicity 

Often times, when people choose a traditional funeral they choose to have their loved one buried as well. In contrast, cremation is more associated with memorial services and celebrations of life. A traditional funeral involves many more components such as a wake, gathering pallbearers, organizing a mass with a church, coordinating the burial with the cemetery, and much more. A memorial service and celebration of life can be much simpler if you choose them to be, and can also be held weeks or months after the cremation. Since these ceremonies are more based on what you want and are less about common rituals, you can choose just how complicated and sophisticated the ceremonies are. 

5) Flexibility 

With burial, you are either interred underground in a plot or above ground in a mausoleum. With cremation, you have several options in terms of what you can do with your loved one’s ashes. You can scatter your loved one’s ashes, store them in an urn, hold a small portion of it in memorial jewelry, blast them as apart of fireworks, mix them into the ink of a tattoo, or do other creative things with ashes.  

6) Religions are Becoming Less Strict 

Many people are starting to move away from tradition due to religions having a more relaxed stance on cremation. Catholics believe that the soul is immortal and does not depend on the physical body. Since cremation of the deceased's remains do not affect his or her soul, according to the Church, there are no doctrinal objections to the practice (Bryner, 2016). The less strict beliefs of the Catholic church are becoming another reason that people are choosing cremation rather than burial. 
Sources: 

Jeanna Bryner, Vatican Issues New Cremation Guidelines for 'Faithfully Departed'; https://www.livescience.com/56632-vatican-issues-new-cremation-guidelines.html 
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