If you are making plans for handling your remains after death and want to get cremated, it is important to understand the religious connotations behind it. Many religions are skeptical about this practice or limit who can get it done.
Those Who Get Cremated May Want Religious Services
Cremation has been accepted by a larger number of people and religions around the world. Those who get cremation may want to get a religious service at some point during the cremation process. While a traditional showing of the body is obviously not possible, they may want a ceremony that gives friends and loved ones the chance to view their urn or remember their lives.
A religious ceremony after a cremation will focus on the same kind of rites and rituals that are common with a burial funeral. For example, the religious leader will give a meaningful sermon about their lives and discuss the person's effect on others.
Some Religions Won't Allow It
While cremation has become a more acceptable way of dealing with remains, there are several religions that traditionally don't approve of this practice. For example, Catholicism prohibited it all the way up to 1963. However, the church has since lifted its strong stance against it. As long as the person is cremated in a casket and receives proper Catholic rites, most Catholic churches will accept it.
Other branches of Christianity, such as Protestantism, have been more open to cremation from the beginning. That said, certain branches of Judaism, Greek Orthodox, and Muslim religions have a very hard stance against cremation and rarely allow it.
Talking To Religious Figures About Cremation
Anyone who is interested in cremation who follows a specific religious path should contact their religious authority figure as soon as possible. They can discuss specific passages in the Bible or in any other religious book regarding cremation. For example, there are passages in the Bible that may indicate that cremation is not acceptable.
Religious authorities cannot define whether or not a person accepts cremation as a way of handling their remains. It is up to the individual and whether or not they find it acceptable for their religious beliefs. Often, beliefs are as individual as the person who holds any religious concepts.
So before discussing cremation, make sure to consider whether or not it offends your religious beliefs. Even religions that have traditionally not appreciated cremation are growing to understand and approve it. It all depends on the individual branch of religion.
More information about cremations can be found by contacting a cremation services company, such as American Cremation Society.
