1. Cremation usually costs less than a ground burial.
2. There is a growing shortage of cemetery space.
3. Modern cremation methods are clean, quick and efficient.
4. There is more religious tolerance -- even encouragement of cremation than in the past.

A Funeral is the third largest purchase a person will make in their lifetime.

(The American Way of Death Revisited: Jessica Mitford)

"Considerations Concerning Cremation," a pamphlet published by The National Funeral Directors Association (NFDA) in 1974, even recognizes that cremation may be desirable for some survivors: "There may be a psychological advantage to cremation for some persons. The idea of a quick, clean incineration of a body is preferable to the slower process of reduction in a grave. They may prefer the immediate way in which the body is broken down to its basic components and then mixed with the elements of the earth, symbolizing a oneness with nature and the universe.
"For these families, cremation can lend support to the process of mourning by which one recovers from the traumatic separation of loss. An important aspect in this process is realizing, both emotionally and intellectually, that any further relationship with the deceased has ended and life must go on. Cremation may effectively symbolize this finality for some people."

(Funerals Consumer's Last Rights by the Editors of Consumer Reports)

Other Links

Cremation Statistics

New California Cremation Law (AB 1075)

Religious Views