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Cremation 2.2
In the first few decades of the 20th Century which group that creatively combined Hinduism and Islam gave cremation a boost
Immigrant Sikhs
Who would push the retort button to commence cremation in the Sikh culture
The closest relative
What disposition of cremated remains was utilized by the Sikhs
Scattering into a body of water -- either the Pacific or in a river or ocean back in India
Compare the growth of cremation in the 19th century to the 20th century in the United States
The rate of growth was far more modest in the first half of the 20th century than it had been in the last quarter of the nineteenth century
List the factors that inhibited cremation's growth in the 20th century
Cultural inertia (Prothero pg 128), high capital expenses (Prothero pg 129), popularization of lawn-park and memorial park cemeteries which addressed overcrowding, unsanitariness, and ugliness of urban graveyards (Prothero pg 129), the inauguration of the mausoleum also promoted as more sanitary than burial (Prothero pg 130), failure of cremation to win imprimatur of the state (Prothero pg 130), lingering memories of its early radicalism (Prothero pg 130) and an assortment of vulgar utilitarinism (Prothero pg 131-132), diffidence of women (Prothero pg 132), undertakers who sought to protect their trade (Prothero pg 133), Catholics and traditional Christians who insisted cremation threatened long-standing Christian beliefs and practices (Prothero pg 134), cremationists did a poor job persuading working class Americans to reject burial (Prothero pg 136), the insistence of many crematory operators on cremating only whites (Prothero pg 136).
Which groups of supported cremation during the Bricks and Mortar Period
Physicians, sanitarians, (liberal) clergymen, lawyers, scholars, journalists, writers and artists
Which branch of Judaism was most accepting of cremation during the late 19th and early 20th Century
Reform
What event caused Jewry's acceptance of cremation to shift to rejection after the 1940s
The world learned about the atrocities wrought by the Nazis and their death camp crematoria during World War II
What ethnic group was most inclined toward cremation in the late 19th and early 20th Centuries
Germans
Why were German Americans more attracted to cremation in the late 19th and early 20th Centuries than actual Germans still living in Germany
Perhaps the strength of free thought in Germany or the aspiration by German immigrants to achieve genteel status in their adopted homeland
How did the cremation movement remake itself in the first half of the 20th Century to survive
By adopting a strategy of accomodation cooperation rather than confrontation and resistance, dropping early radical arguments and demonstrating that cremation was in accordance with religion and not an enemy of spirituality. Cremationists also tried to work with undertakers as the funeral industry gathered steam
How did crematory operators seek reconcilation with undertakers in the early 20th Century
By seeking the cooperation of funeral directors and by urging customers to utilize the services of an undertaker -- especially in regards to the casket purchase
What factors strained relations between funeral directors and cremationists in the 1920s and 1930s
The Great Depression of 1929 reduced profit margins at funeral homes, and hence relations between undertakers and crematory operators. Forest Lawn added a mortuary to its cremation and cemetery facilities in 1933. The tendency to purchase inexpensive caskets for cremations in Oregon, Washington, and California cut into revenues in 1935
In the 1920s and 1930s some cremationists believed in creating an integrated memorialization movement. What crafts did these cremationists seek to unite
The crematory operator, funeral director, cemetery superintendent, casket maker, funeral florist, and mausoleum operator
Why did Cremationists distance themselves from Eastern religions during the Bricks and Mortar Period
Cremationists realized that cremation would prosper more if their method was perceived to be in perfect harmony with Christian practices and principles
List the theological terms used by cremationists during the bricks and mortar period as they attempted to Christianize cremation
A last baptism by incandescent heat, the pure flame ascending to heaven was the symbol of the Holy Spirit
How did many of America's first generation of cremationists handle the disposition of cremated remains
By scattering
How did most cremationists in the 19th and early 20th centuries view cremation in context of disposition
Most cremationists viewed cremation as final disposition, and NOT a preparation for burial or some other disposition
How did scattering cremated remains satisfy early cremationists theologically and practically
From a practicality standpoint, scattering dematerialized the dead, making memorialization difficult. Scattering was also economical as it obviated the needs for an urn, a columbarium niche, and perpetual care. Theologically, scattering kept with the notion that personal identify resided in spirit as opposed to the material husk of an embalmed body
Despite early cremationist sentiment what proved to be the predominant trend of disposition for cremated remains
Burial
How did the trend away from scattering help the cremation movement
The emphasis on memorialization at a sacred site accommodated traditional Christians for whom scattering was a scandal, death professionals for whom it was an economic threat, and women who historically tended the graves of kin
By the 20th Century how had the cremation movement's agenda changed
It had transitioned from a social reform to a business, evidenced by the un newsworthiness of ordinary cremations, the demise of the three leading cremationist publications, and the defunction of the pioneering cremation societies
What did the cremation movement promote by the 1930s
Memorialization or the memorial idea. Cremation was not an alternative to burial, but a supplement to it
How did cremation memorialization in the United States differ between the West Coast and East Coast during the 1920s and 1930s
The East Coast bias was toward urn burial and the West Coast preference was for niches
List the practices that comprised the memorial idea.
A) Rite before cremation; B) inurnment of cremated remains in an appropriate urn; C) placement of urn in a cemetery plot, columbarium niche, or mausoleum; D) rite of committal at place of memorialization; E) suitable marker at site
What practice was considered a menace to the memorial idea
Scattering
How did some cremationists discourage families from scattering cremated remains
By refusing to crush/pulverize cremated remains and returning bone fragments instead
Why did crematory operators encourage the memorial idea and discourage scattering
Memorialization increased profitability, did not threaten undertakers, and provided greater reverance for the deceased
Which groups carried the ideals of pioneering cremation societies of the Gilded Age into the beginning of the 21st Century and were the most conspicuous dissenters of the memorial idea
Memorial Societies
Trace the origins of the memorial society movement
The burial cooperatives of the American frontier, the mutual cremation societies of the Gilded Age, the burial clubs of medieval Europe, and even to the burial assistance compacts of the Israelites in captivity in Babylon
What was the first memorial society in the United States
The People's Memorial Association (PMA), established 1/12/1939
Who established the People's Memorial Association
The Reverend Fred Shorter and his nondenominational Congregational Church of the People
How did the memorial society way of cremation differ from the memorial idea
They preferred direct cremation: quick and inexpensive incineration performed without embalming, viewing, expensive coffin, or funeral
What were the main criticisms memorial societies had for traditional funerals
Traditional funerals were too expensive and materialistic
Explain the range of services memorial societies provided during the Bricks and Mortar Period
Some memorial societies merely educated the public about simple and inexpensive alternatives to traditional funerals, others contracted with local funeral directors to provide members with inexpensive death care, some offered cremation only, and others included simple burial and body donation
What was the likely religious affiliation of memorial society members
Unitarians, Quakers, and other liberal Protestants
What were memorial societies trying to accomplish
An alternative to the cremate-and-memorialize strategy of the new pragmatic businesses and a return to the cremate-and-scatter approach of the reform-minded pioneers. They also sought to take control over cremation ritualization away from crematory operators and funeral directors and put it back in the hands of lay people like themselves
What did the success of the memorial society movement in the bricks and mortar period demonstrate
Americans were crafting many ways of cremation
By the 1920s what had occured to the sanitation argument formerly used to justify cremation
New studies had brought the connection between cemeteries and disease into question, causing the sanitation arguments used by cremationists to be abandoned and replaced
How did cremationists promote their practice after they stopped championing it as the sanitary alternative to burial
They claimed that cremation was beautiful and burial ugly (Prothero pg 154) Cremation was both more natural and more beautiful than burial. Cremation restored to nature elements that, before death, constituted a living human body and, after death, nourished plants and animals. Cremation was also a sensible use of land
What was the nation's most influential pro-cremation document in the bricks and mortar period and who authored it
The autobiographical Light Like the Sun by Mrs. Frances Newton
"What religious group denounced Newton's book as propaganda and reminded its members that cremation was ""an abomination in the sight of God"" during the bricks and mortar period"
The Roman Catholic Church