igh cost of conventional funeral rituals have promoted a cremation rate of 98 percent (George, 2004, p. 25). Burial is often illegal in Japan. The rise in cremation in the U.S., where the first cremation occurred in 1876, is partly a product of changing social values and the rise of New Age spiritualities. Such practices are symbolic of changing values, according to George (2004): ôàthe loss of a sense of place in modern transient societyö (25).
While there are laws that apply to funeral rituals and body disposal in most cultures, the above practices demonstrate that cremation is a form of body disposal within funeral rituals that is gaining wider acceptance worldwide. While some religions like the Jewish religion forbid the practice of cremation, others embrace it as a respectful means of dealing with the deceasedÆs body. Such practices show that views on funeral rituals and body disposal continue to be specific to different cultures and rel
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