Cremation Vs. Burial: Pros, Cons, & Costs

End-of-life-planning isn’t easy. There are many factors to be considered when planning for a loved one’s or your own final arrangements. One of the larger decisions to be made is between cremation and burial. Depending on factors like your budget, personal values, beliefs, and location, one or the other may be more suitable for you. Whatever you end up choosing, Fort Worth Funerals & Cremations hopes to be there to help the whole process go perfectly. We offer burials and cremations that are affordable, high-quality, and professional in Fort Worth, Texas. We invite you to reach out to us with any questions you may have, any time, any day or night. Let’s work together to help celebrate a lifetime.

Deciding Between Cremation and Burial

When it comes to the pros and cons between burial and cremation, there are a number of things to consider. Part of the end-of-life planning and healing process, cremations and funerals can give the living a sense of closure and help with grief and other complex feelings. As such, it’s important to treat this decision with suitable weight.

What is Cremation?

Cremation is a method of final disposition of a dead person through combustion. The process is undertaken without any sort of viewing or embalming. In some countries, cremation is an ancient tradition, but in the Western world, cremation was actually forbidden by law. The decline of popularity of cremation in the West most likely occurred due to the rise of Christianity in Europe, with its Jewish-influenced belief in the resurrection of the body. It wasn’t until the 1870s that cremation was reintroduced as a viable method for body disposal. This came about at this time due to technological breakthroughs resulting from the Industrial Revolution, making cremation a more affordable, simpler process than burial.

Pros of Cremation

There are a number of pros of cremation to consider:

Offers closeness — Cremation is a suitable option if you want to keep a physical token of your loved one, with their ashes in an urn, which you can keep in your home indefinitely.

Decomposition isn’t a factor — If the idea of decomposition bothers you, cremation skips over that process, turning the body to ash.

No need for a casket or funeral plot — All you need after cremation is an urn or some other type of vessel. However, if you want, it’s not uncommon for people to bury an urn.

Cons of Cremation

Some cons of cremation include:

You are responsible — Instead of the cemetery being responsible for the remains, they are in your care. It may be burdensome to keep the remains in your possession instead of in some separate location, like a graveyard. In Hinduism, bringing home the remains of the deceased is believed to cause distress and make healing more difficult.

Unacceptable for some religions — Some religious faiths do not accept cremation, including Islam, Orthodox Jewish, Eastern Orthodox, and some fundamentalist Christian sects.

No viewing — Some people would like to view the body one last time to express love and appreciation, and with cremation that is not always an option. However, Fort Worth Funerals & Cremations offers a number of cremation packages that do include viewing.

What is Burial?

Burial, also known as internment, is a way of final disposition involving putting the body in the ground. A funeral or ceremony usually accompanies burial. Usually the remains are put in a casket and put in a grave or in a crypt. A traditional funeral generally involves embalming and dressing the body in preparation for a viewing service. The body is brought in a hearse to the burial or gravesite, and then buried.

Pros of Burial

Some notable pros of burial are:

Establish a family site — You can bury multiple family members in the same location and establish a crypt or plot of land to go to for remembrance.

Permanence — As opposed to scattering ashes after cremation, burying your loved one gives you a specific location where you can go to visit them. What’s left of them has its own designated real estate.

Ecology — You may find the idea peaceful that the earth can reuse your body in its natural processes.

Cons of Burial

There are also some cons of burials:

Space — Depending on where you live and where you want to bury the body, you may have difficulty finding a suitable location.

Decomposition — For some people, the idea of decomposition of the body is gruesome. Although it is a natural process, the slow break-down of a body may be unsettling to consider.

Cost — Traditional burials are generally one of the most expensive options for dealing with bodily remains. The cost of a traditional full-service funeral can easily cost tens of thousands of dollars, with the casket, plot, etc. The average cost of a burial is around $9,000, depending on what is included.

Choose the Best Method to Achieve Closure

Both cremation and burial offer you a sense of closure. Revisiting a site where you have spread the cremated ashes of your loved ones can be just as sacred as spending time in a mausoleum or by a headstone. In both cases, you can revisit whenever you desire and reflect. Whatever method you choose, Fort Worth Funerals & Cremations can help. We offer affordable burial and cremation services right here in Texas. Call us today to discuss which service package is most suitable for your purposes.