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PATNA, INDIA, November 11, 2002: Christians in densely populated areas are increasingly turning to the Hindu tradition of cremation as cemeteries get more crowded. As younger Christians spruced up the graves of their ancestors recently for All Souls Day, many of them said they were willing to opt for cremation rather than burial when their time comes. “Cremation is a viable and modern alternative,” said Deepak Simon, a minister in the Church of North India in Bihar. With the billion-plus population converging on cities at an alarming rate, Christian cremations are also likely to become more commonplace. For some believers, cremation goes against Christianity’s basic tenets. “Christians’ faith that bodies in the graves will rise to life on the Day of Resurrection prevents the notion of cremation of bodies,” said M. Joseph. Others, however, welcome the eco-friendly way of disposing the dead that would put Christians closer in practice to most Indians. “Indian Christians in all their social functions, like marriages and childbirth, observe local and regional cultural traditions. The point is, when Indian traditions can be followed in life why not in death?” asked Binu Jose, a Roman Catholic. Cremation remains forbidden, however, for Muslims. But Islamic leaders are also also urging changes. Muslims are now generally banned from their custom of concrete tombs, which took up major space. And Muslims can now bury their dead in the same plot three months after the last funeral there. In the US, cremation is the second most common form of disposition, according to the National Funeral Directors Association. The association reports that the percentage of cremation in the United States and Canada has increased steadily in recent decades. In the 1960s, about 3 to 4 percent of all deaths were disposed by cremation. Today, the amount is 23 to 24 percent. Similarly, the Chicago-based Cremation Association of North America projects that by the year 2010, the level of cremation in the United States will be 32.5 percent. In England and Japan, cremation is the most common form of disposition.

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