Are there religious concerns for burial or cremation to consider for your loved one or the family?

Are there religious concerns for burial or cremation to consider for your loved one or the family?

Religion provides a context for understanding and dealing with the loss of a loved one. It explains death and points to what happens beyond death, influencing the course a family takes to deal with a loved one’s remains. Get to know the guidelines provided by some of the major religions. 

Choosing Burial 

For the most part, Christians and Jews insist on burials. Christians avoid aggressive care of the remains in the hope for a miraculous return and because they believe in the sanctity of all that pertains to life. Jews believe that death is a natural process, and the body should decay naturally. 

Islam is more stringent on funerals and has stipulations on dealing with the remains of the dead. The body usually gets buried on the day the death occurs. 

Whichever religion an individual may have practised, Heritage Funeral Complex can help you arrange burial services in Ottawa to give your loved one a befitting send-off. 

Choosing Cremation 

The last few decades have seen a change in people’s attitudes regarding cremation in Ottawa and Orleans. Some credit it to the immigration of many people practicing Buddhism and Hinduism who traditionally cremated their dead. But, overall, religions are relaxing their stern attitudes towards cremation. 

Christianity and Judaism that previously strongly discouraged cremation in Orleans and Ottawa are warming up to it. They no longer consider it an impediment to resurrection. A cremated individual can still receive a church funeral or be buried in a church-owned cemetery. 

Atheists are not particularly tied to any beliefs and do not believe in an individual’s soul or life after death. Many of them decide between cremation or burial based on individual concerns and needs. 

Orthodox Jews and a few pockets of Christianity like the Russian and Greek Orthodox churches discourage cremation. Mormons also avoid cremation, believing that the body is tied inextricably to the soul. Jehovah’s Witnesses are not opposed to cremation and leave it to the family to decide. 

Religion is one way to help decide which is the better choice for you and your family, burial or cremation. Talk to our funeral directors about how we can help you plan and arrange a fitting farewell for your deceased loved one. 

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