As late as 1970, only about 5% of Americans chose to be cremated. In 2020, more than 56% Americans opted for it.
Environmental concerns are one of the reasons Americans are opting for cremation. Godong/Stone via Getty Images
However, as late as 1970, according to figures from the Cremation Association of America, only about 5% of American chose the method. In 2020, more than 56% Americans opted for it. Additionally, this is not a new development: Direct cremation was far cheaper than a full burial in 1960 or 1990, too. In a related concern, Harker notes that in a survey by the Cremation Association of North America in 2008, 13% of people chose cremation because of worries about cemetery land scarcity. Cremation internments take up much less space than ground burials.
In 2021, only about 47% of Americans belonged to a church, synagogue or mosque, compared with 1999, when over 70% of adults stated they were affiliated with one such religious institution. Alternatives, such as green burial, will challenge this practice, but for the foreseeable future, Americans have joined much of the world in embracing cremation.David Sloane does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment. The days the music died: A look at funerals of the greats, from Elvis to Prince James Brown He died Dec. 25, 2006.
Jackson's bronze casket, similar to Brown's, was plated with 14-karat gold and lined with blue velvet. Each of Jackson's brothers wore a single white sequined glove to honor him. The celebrities on hand included Smokey Robinson, Lionel Richie, Kobe Bryant and Magic Johnson. One report had thousands of fans clogging streets for a public viewing in Chicago, where he had lived as a boy and where Muhammad Ali, then known as Cassius Clay, showed up. The crowd at a church service was so big that Cooke's wife and two daughters had to be lifted over the people to get inside.A second church service, also in Los Angeles more than a week after his death, included Ray Charles singing"The Angels Keep Watching Over Me.
Biggie's body sported a white double-breasted suit and cap, and was in a mahogany coffin, according to one report. His mother, Voletta Wallace, read scripture in a room alive with the scent of roses.Whitney Houston Her family declined to hold a public service after her sudden death in Los Angeles on Feb. 11, 2012, at age 48, choosing to honor the pop icon with a televised, invitation-only funeral at New Hope Baptist Church in her hometown of Newark, New Jersey.
The funeral on Aug. 18 was modest, held in Graceland's living room. It was attended by celebrities, of course, including his"Viva Las Vegas" co-star Ann Margret, along with James Brown. More impressive was the long line of cars following Presley's white hearse on the way to Forest Hill Cemetery for burial next to his beloved mother, Gladys Love.After a thief tried to snatch his body, the remains of both Elvis and his mother were moved to a garden at Graceland.
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