Cremation Vs. Burial

Burial and cremation are the two most common ways to honor the deceased. While there are other ancient methods (such as burial at sea) and modern methods (such as burial in space), cremation and burial are still the best known and most widely available.

Cremation

Cremation is not the process of reducing a body to ash. Rather, most of the body is burned away, leaving dry bone that is subsequently reduced to fragments. Cremation is thought to be more environmentally friendly than burial, largely due to the amount of chemicals generally used in embalming. Artificial materials used in coffin construction have also been accused of causing pollution. Historically, even those who have objected to it have made use of cremation for various reasons: either because burial was infeasible (as during the Black Plague, when having too many bodies during the burial process would spread disease to an already dangerously depopulated Europe) or as punishment (heretics especially were known to have been cremated). Other cultures have had different views.

Burial

Most of the Western world is more accustomed to burial rather than the alternative. Christianity, Judaism and Islam strongly prefer burial over cremation. The burial process varies from culture to culture, but with few exceptions, they share certain commonalities: the body is placed in a casket (it may or may not go through embalming, a preservation process) which is then placed in a cemetery. The funeral itself generally takes place before the burial, although there is often another ceremony when the body is interred.

Cremation Controversy

Since the Holocaust, cremation has been associated with Nazi Germany's concentration camps, as this was the preferred method of dealing with bodies. Indeed, the term "holocaust" explicitly refers to burning. A more recent controversy happened in Georgia in 2002, when a number of human corpses, who had supposedly been cremated, were found intact; the crematory responsible for these bodies had taken the bodies and returned falsified remains.

Space Considerations

Many countries, especially in Europe and Asia, are being faced with the prospect of simply running out of places to put bodies. Since cremated remains take up much less space than coffins, many countries (especially Japan) favor cremation. The United States, having a rather larger amount of area and a smaller amount of history than Europe and Asia, does not have that problem in most areas of the country, so burial is more popular. It is worth noting that, although space is less of an issue now, it may become one in the future as it has in other countries.

Price

One reason to choose cremation over burial is price: cremation tends to be less expensive than burial, although this will vary depending on the service requested. As noted above, space is an issue in some areas, meaning that burial plots can become prohibitively expensive. On the other hand, people living in areas where cremation is not as popular are faced with the difficulty of finding a crematory; for example, there were no crematories in Israel for many years.

Religious Concerns

Some religions frown on or explicitly ban cremation, while it is very rare that a religion forbids burial. Hinduism is an exception; cremation, especially open-air cremation, is much preferred over burial. Exceptions can be made, however. For example, burial in New Orleans would be exceedingly difficult, as the city is below sea level, therefore almost all bodies are cremated, despite the population being overwhelmingly Catholic. A religion's view on the body will usually inform their opinion on burial or cremation: Hinduism and Buddhism favor the view that the body is temporary and has little meaning, so cremation is preferred, while Catholics (among others) believe that the body is a holy object and therefore should not be destroyed if at all possible.