Bad Economy Pushes Cremation Rate Higher
DECEMBER 12, 2011 TAGS:
Last week the New York Times offered a quick look at the changing complexion of the American funeral. Brutal economic times have pushed more families to choose cremation over burial. The cremation rate has climbed rapidly in recent decades from a mere 15 percent in 1985 to about 41 percent this year, according to the Cremation Association of North America.
Soon, a majority of Americans will opt for cremation, and the rugged state of many household finances is pushing that day closer at an increasing pace. The numbers bear out. A burial funeral can easily run higher than $10,000 while cremation can often be done under $2,000.
What's remarkable is that many families who face long illnesses before the death of a loved one must shoulder the financial burden of a slapdash insurance and medicare system. Dying is getting more expensive, so people are spending less on funerals.
But are people still having meaningful ceremonies? How has the economic push towards cremation affected rituals of farewell? Practices like ash scattering represent a new frontier in memorial services, as are even more experimental methods of disposition.
As end-of-life issues and medical care coalesce around the idea of dignity and comfort of the patient in clearly terminal situations, how will the evolving attitude towards death alter the funeral again? What's most interesting about the Times piece isn't necessarily the news that cremation is on the rise, but that Americans are willing to make new traditions in the face of a changing landscape.
Soon, a majority of Americans will opt for cremation, and the rugged state of many household finances is pushing that day closer at an increasing pace. The numbers bear out. A burial funeral can easily run higher than $10,000 while cremation can often be done under $2,000.What's remarkable is that many families who face long illnesses before the death of a loved one must shoulder the financial burden of a slapdash insurance and medicare system. Dying is getting more expensive, so people are spending less on funerals.
But are people still having meaningful ceremonies? How has the economic push towards cremation affected rituals of farewell? Practices like ash scattering represent a new frontier in memorial services, as are even more experimental methods of disposition.
As end-of-life issues and medical care coalesce around the idea of dignity and comfort of the patient in clearly terminal situations, how will the evolving attitude towards death alter the funeral again? What's most interesting about the Times piece isn't necessarily the news that cremation is on the rise, but that Americans are willing to make new traditions in the face of a changing landscape.
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