Religious traditions differ over cremation

Monsignor Michael Henchal didn’t pay much attention to cremation until both of his parents decided that’s what they wanted when they died.

“The idea certainly piqued my interest because at that time it was personal,” Henchal said in a recent interview.

As a Catholic priest for more than 30 years, Henchal has had to address the subject of cremation more and more frequently at his parish, St. Bartholomew in Cape Elizabeth.

In 1995, his curiosity led to a research paper published by the Canon Law Society of America in which he detailed Catholics’ changing attitudes toward cremation.

For a long time, the Roman Catholic Church forbade cremation, but in 1963 the Second Vatican Council reversed the church’s stance. The rate of cremation has risen ever since.

“It has taken awhile for Catholics to get the word,” Henchal said. “It’s been very gradual. Things like that really happen around word of mouth, and not everyone gets the news.

“The [Catholic] church has never had a problem with cremation per se. It was more the reasons behind it, and also what is done with remains.”

Most Christian teachings support cremation, although a few, such as Presbyterians and some Baptists, rarely choose that option.

William Imes, a pastor for 32 years before he became president of the Bangor Theological Seminary, said the shift to cremation instead of burial has been dramatic, but he doubts religion has played a huge role.

“Mainers are always very practical,” he said. “Cremation does give you a lot more opportunities as to where you will be ‘disposed.'”

Still, Imes said, “Churches struggle with to what extent do you blend tradition with personal desires.”

Protestants and Catholics believe in the Resurrection, but their interpretations about what that means are vastly different.

“I think there needs to be more of a reverence with respect to human remains,” Henchal said. “The division of remains, for instance, is still frowned upon. It’s not like you would chop up a body.”

Imes disagreed.

“Personally, I have no trouble with dividing remains,” he said. “We’re all raised from death. There is no need to find your body. A lot of people think bones last forever. They don’t.”

Many Eastern religions, such as Buddhism and Hinduism, recommend cremation. In some cases it’s required.

Other religions, such as Islam and Judaism, remain firmly against it.

“[A Jew] believes in bodily resurrection, and cremation says, basically, I don’t believe in that,” said Rabbi David Cantor of the Beth El Synagogue in Bangor. “Having a burial and a ceremony is a psychological way of forcing you to mourn. Cremation interrupts that natural process.”

Cantor said he isn’t surprised that cremation has become more common among non-Jews, particularly because it is less costly.

“Part of my understanding is that burial is often expensive, but Jewish funerals are not expensive to begin with,” he said. “There is no embalming, no viewing. Everyone is buried in a pine box and wears linen shrouds. Everyone is equal. The same.”

And no matter the religion, Henchal said, “there will always be people for whom cremation will not be an option.”