Spiritualism and New Age
Many hold that consciousness survives beyond death and continues beyond the body. Cremation is generally acceptable because it separates spirit from matter. Themes include energy, karma, reincarnation, and ascension through higher planes. Rituals may include meditation, intention setting, crystals, and energy work at memorials.
Native American Beliefs
Many Native nations teach that spirit is immortal and continues after death. Most tribes believe the dead’s soul transcends into the spirit world, becoming part of the spiritual realm, influencing the lives of the tribes. Along with the ancestors, some tribes believe the deceased continue with ongoing guidance within living landscapes and kinship ties. Native American tribes’ burial and cremation practices vary from nation to nation, based on geographical location.
Plains and Plateau nations used scaffold or tree burials to aid spirit travel and protect remains. Lakota, Mandan, and Crow examples include raised platforms, offerings, and, later, secondary reburials when feasible. Mississippi Valley peoples built chambered mounds that linked ancestors, territory, and ritual authority across generations. Some Southwest and Southeast communities cremated and placed remains in earthenware jars for protection and identity.
Conclusion
While death itself sometimes leaves us asking hard questions, the anxiety of burial practices for those of faith can add extra stress. However, many religions accept cremation and some forbid it. Those religions that forbid cremation require the physical body not damaged to protect the body in the afterlife. Others embrace cremation as release, purity, or impermanence. Each faith links cremation to its core beliefs about the soul and the afterlife.
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