Joseph Durham looking at an urn

The Care of the Dead: A Reading List

An interdisciplinary bibliography exploring the care of the dead and how our final choices are shaped by culture, religion, economics, technology, and war.
Design for an Urn, 19th century

How Cremation Lost Its Stigma

The pro-cremation movement of the nineteenth century battled religious tradition, not to mention the specter of mass graves during epidemics.
"Cremation in Japan-J. M. W. Silver". Licensed under Public Domain via <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cremation_in_Japan-J._M._W._Silver.jpg#/media/File:Cremation_in_Japan-J._M._W._Silver.jpg" target="_blank">Wikimedia Commons</a>

The History of Cremation in Japan

Although Buddhism propelled the popularity of cremation across Asia, its staying power, particularly in Japan, has been for practical reasons.