Changes

By the 17th century, doctors and some others influenced by emerging science began to call for the use of cremation as a means to dispose of the dead in a sanitary way. It became increasingly evident that disease could be prevented from spreading by cremation. By 1870s, both in Florence and the UK, the idea of cremation began to be advocated more greatly by physicians in Western Europe. Sir Henry Thomson, who was a physician to Queen Victoria, was the first prominent official in the UK to advocate cremation. During the Victorian period, the population was growing rapidly. New cemeteries, such as Woking Cemetery, were created for the now far greater number of bodies as high population also meant high death rates. For physicians, they increasingly became concerned that cemeteries could not keep up with demand and that bodies not properly buried would spread disease. This led to the eventual agreement by the government, with Queen Victoria's backing, to allow the construction of the first Crematorium in Woking, which also was conveniently located near the largest cemetery in the UK (Brookwood Cemetery). The benefit was that it also saved money. The Victorian period was also known for a high number of impoverished people, which became an expense for local governments to bury. With cremation, bodies can be more cheaply removed for those who were not claimed by anyone after their death. It still took some years after the 1870s for the crematorium to be built and tested, where finally in 1885 cremations became an option for the general population. <ref>For more on the early development of crematoriums in Europe, see: Avril Maddrell & James D. Sidaway (eds.) (2010) Deathscapes: spaces for death, dying, mourning and remembrance. Surrey ; Burlington, VT, Ashgate, pg. 244.</ref>

Meanwhile, cremations began to be practiced in Germany in the 1878, with the town of Gotha adopting the practice. In the United States, the practice began also at about the same time in 1876. In the United States, cremations became increasingly legalized as people argued that dead bodies began to contaminate the water system, thus it became necessary to cremate in high density locations (Figure 2). <ref>For more on cremations in the United States, see: Prothero, S.R. (2001) Purified by fire: a history of cremation in America. Berkeley, University of California Press.</ref>

While cremations increasingly became accepted in the Western world in the late 19th century, what finally made it even more acceptable to more religious populations was the Pope lifting the Catholic Church's ban on cremation in 1963. This, in some way, was also due to pressure from poorer Catholics who often could not afford normal burial and thus found cremation as a cheaper alternative. For Protestants, most denominations became more accepting of cremations after World War I. Modern crematoriums were considered different in how they burned bodies, thus they were no longer seen as being part of pagan ritual.<ref>For more on the lifting of prohibitions against cremation by major Christian denominations, see: Douglas James Davies & Lewis H. Mates (eds.) (2005) Encyclopedia of cremation. Aldershot, England ; Burlington, VT, Ashgate, pg. 383.</ref>