No One Here Gets Out Alive: Burying Dead the American Way

The Rise of Cremation

Finding common ground between Mitford and Laderman, Stephen Prothero documents the history of cremation in his recent work Purified by Fire: A History of Cremation in America.[1] Chronologically detailing the ambiguous public opinion regarding cremation and the constant state of flux among cremation providers from the nineteenth-century to contemporary America, Prothero asserts that the rise in cremation is well within the traditional framework of funerary practices. According to Prothero, what set cremation apart is that it provides “baby-boomers to conduct death their way.”[2] Placed within this perspective, increases in cremation were not due merely to religion, economics, or immigration. Rather, the rise in cremation is aligned with the characteristics of the generation that came of age during a trend of non-conformity in American culture. In short, the generation who placed individualism before accommodation found in cremation a choice and style that they could make their own, even in death. In doing so, cremation reflects broader cultural trends.
            During the eighties, the AIDS epidemic fueled crematoriums and led to fears of contraction among Funeral Directors nationwide. Arguments, echoing Mitford, state that Funeral Directors capitalized on the perceived threats of contracting the disease by coming into contact with those who carried the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). Others such as Laderman concede that a lack of awareness about the disease, limited knowledge of how AIDS spread, and fears of contraction forced Funeral Directors to offer cremation as a viable option in the interest of their safety. As medical practitioners began to understand the disease more fully, fears of contraction among directors and the public began to wane. With this knoweledge, the fees associated with the handling of victims’ bodies began to dissipate. As the fear of AIDS subsided, new technologies and business models began to shake the foundation of the industry once again.
As the practice grew, the most significant threat to traditional funerary providers are their low-cost funeral colleagues. Funeral Directors, such as Brad Walker of Walker Mortuary are quick to denounce these competitors whom he asserts overpromise and under deliver in promising their clients low-cost, direct to cremation, and do it yourself funeral services. Additionally, Walker states that the area he services has seen an increase of nearly 30% in cremations since 1995. What’s more, Walker concludes that by 2020 the growth of cremations will account for close to 50% of the mortuaries overall business. The answer, of course, is for the mortuary to build a crematory on site. Although quick to point out that in doing so they deprive their discount neighbor of business this is not the means to an end. Rather, Walker states “we are building the crematory to provide better service to our clients and their families.”[3]
 
[1] Brad Walker, "Walker Mortuary Interview." Telephone interview by author. April 27, 2016.
[2] Prothero, Purified by Fire: A History of Cremation in America, 212. Other works in which Prothero highlights the connection between American religious ideologies and burial rituals include, Stephen R. Prothero, Religious Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know - and Doesn't (New York, NY: HarperOne, 2008).
[3] Walker, "Telephone Interview by author, 2016

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