Cremations

Introduction

Historically, cremation has been performed from as early as the Neolithic period. Later, it was well-known in classical Greek society, sometimes occurring alongside burial when it was, perhaps, restricted to individuals of high social status. (Floyd, pp. 90)D. when they switched to burial in a remarkable change of cultural practice that has not been fully explained and was unlikely to be due entirely to the rise of Christianity. In ancient China, parts of Southeast Asia, India, and among some North and South American indigenous groups, cremation was used as a normal mode of funerary rite. One of the most remarkable cultural changes in Europe in the 20th century was the rise of cremation over burial as the central means of disposing of the dead. (Creamer, pp. 50) After virtually 2,000 years of Christian-influenced burial, the Protestant places of worship administered the locality in accepting cremation as an authentic pattern of funeral. Catholicism followed later in the century (McDonald 1966), whereas in North America, it took until the beginning of the 21st century before cremation even began to make major inroads into the traditional domain of death rites. Australia tended to follow the British pattern as far as those of European immigrant backgrounds were concerned. (Floyd, pp. 90)In time span of the foremost devout culture, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Sikhism have long utilised cremation, while Orthodox Judaism and Islam continue, mostly, to down turn it. Within Christianity, Protestant Lutheranism and Anglicanism accepted cremation from early in the 20th century, practically half a century before Catholicism, but Greek Orthodoxy continues to forbid the practice. (Creamer, pp. 50)

Discussion

The modern development of cremation did not come about unassisted. A curious book titled Hydriotaphia, Urne Buriall, by Sir Thomas Browne, was published in England in 1658 and was a reflection on cremation in the light of archaeological findings related to cremation. In the late 18th century, the French Revolution saw cremation as a form of funeral that avoided Christian tradition, but little happened, in practice, until the 1860s and 1870s. Exhibitions in Paris (1867) presented a gas burning system by Siemens, and in Vienna (1873), a cremation scheme by the Italian Brunetti. (Creamer, pp. 50)6. The Congress of Hygiene in Turin (1880), for example, inspired Alfred Koeschin-Schwarz and Georges Saloman to form a cremation society in France. A major theme of these events was cremation as a scientifically based means of public health in disposing of the dead. Notable individuals supporting cremation included in Italy, surgeon to Queen Victoria. (Floyd, pp. 90)

In many countries in the late 19th century, individuals and groups became interested in this form of disposal whether influenced primarily by matters of public health or from ideological commitments in opposition to the dominance of Christian churches over funerary rites and sometimes over cultural life in general. Very often, informal groups led to the establishment of cremation societies or associations that sought a legal status for cremation even before it was practiced in their countries. (Floyd, pp. 90)In most of these situations, attention was drawn ...