Cremation (Catholic Encyclopedia article)
William Devlin · 1913
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Description
A long entry traces cremation, the burning of the dead, from ancient practice to modern Church law. Pre-Canaanites burned their dead until about 2500 BC, while Jews, Egyptians, and Persians largely did not. Greeks and Romans varied with their views of the afterlife, and by the fifth Christian century the practice had ceased in the West under Christian influence.
Church legislation then made burial in earth or tomb part of Christian burial, and later Roman decrees forbade cremation. The entry explains the motives: in modern times cremation was often tied to a public profession of irreligion and materialism, promoted first by Freemasons. It closes by asking whether cremation marks culture, and answers that the Church could conform if the custom ever became universal without offence to faith.
Catalog record
| CREATOR | William Devlin |
|---|---|
| YEAR | 1913 |
| COLLECTION | REFERENCE |
| FORMAT | TXT |
| FILE SIZE | 13 KB |
| LICENSE | PUBLIC_DOMAIN |
| RIGHTS | PUBLIC DOMAIN |
| SOURCE | New Advent — Catholic Encyclopedia (1913) |