Religious Implications of Green Burial

Green burial, also known as natural burial, is not prohibited by the Catholic Church. Over recent years, there has been an increased interest in green burial among Catholics. Additionally, many of the established green burial sites are on Catholic cemetery grounds. 

One reason the Catholic Church may be receptive to green burial is its relation to maintaining the natural cycle of life and death since this burial method allows the body to return to the earth and soil without any impediment to decomposition. Another perspective may hold that since Christ was buried in a shroud without any embalming, green burial provides the means for similar customs to be incorporated.

Pope Francis has often shared his views on respecting and maintaining reverence for nature. In modeling this perspective to Catholics worldwide, he influences them to consider ecologically ethical and more gentle options for the planet. Within this view, Catholics may feel led to remember and honor their loved ones using methods such as green burial, which is recognized as being less damaging to the natural environment and its resources than other forms of disposition.

Another potential reason for support of green burial within the Catholic Church may be associated with the limitations placed on cremation. Although the Catholic Church removed strict limitations on cremation in 1963, it still emphasizes the importance and appropriateness of allowing the natural decay of the body. In doing so, Catholics acknowledge that the body is sacred and intended to be treated with respect according to the traditions of their faith. 

Sources 

“To Lie Down in Green Pastures: How the Catholic Church is leading the way in green burial”. Green Burial Council. Retrieved from https://www.greenburialcouncil.org/the-catholic-church-and-green-burial.html 

“Green Burial”. The Catholic Cemeteries. Retrieved from https://catholic-cemeteries.org/green-burial/ 

“More Catholics choose ‘green burials’ hoping for a lighter footprint”. U.S. Catholic. Retrieved from https://uscatholic.org/articles/202004/more-catholics-choose-green-burials-hoping-for-a-lighter-footprint/ 

“Why are 12% of green burial cemeteries Catholic?” Green Burial Naturally. Retrieved from https://www.greenburialnaturally.org/blog/2017/2/6/why-are-there-so-many-catholic-green-burial-cemeteries 

Green burials are not prohibited by any religion, although cremation is the preferred form of final disposition in the Hindu and Buddhist faiths. In fact, many religions embrace natural burial as a means to return the body to the earth in the state in which it arrived. (“For dust thou art and unto dust thou shall return: Genesis, KJV 3:19). This is true in particular of the Abrahamic religions, Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and Baha’i, all of which (with the exception of some forms of Christianity) prohibit cremation and require that bodies be buried in the earth soon after death. Some specific examples of religious tenets and burial practices that mimic what we now call “green” burial include:

• Judaism

In the Jewish religion, the body is a vessel for the soul, given to us by God for the time we are on earth. When a person dies, the tenets of Judaism dictate that the body must be handled with reverence and care, and delivered back to God in the same state as it arrived. 

Known as “tahara” (the Hebrew word for “cleanse”) traditional Jewish death care involves ritual cleansing of the body along with the reciting of prayers. Bodies are never embalmed and are traditionally wrapped in a shroud before burial in a plain wooden casket. (Sometimes the casket is omitted and the person is buried in a shroud.) Unless circumstances prohibit it, burial occurs within 24 hours of death, after which the family “sits Shiva” for seven days.

• Islam

Despite the geopolitical realities that separate them, Islam and Judaism share many of the same beliefs. Both are monotheistic religions that worship a single, supreme entity, and both are based on the teachings of Abraham. Further, they both view our time on earth as one of preparation for an afterlife that includes some form of resurrection and reunification with God.

It’s not surprising, then, that Islamic deathways are very similar to those practiced by people of the Jewish faith. Shortly after death, the body undergoes a ritual cleansing by one or two same-sex relatives and is dressed in a simple cotton shroud. Cremation and embalming are prohibited (although organ donation is now considered acceptable), and the body is buried within 24 hours of death.

• Christianity

Although Christianity originated as an off-shoot of Judaism, it has evolved into four main branches, the Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox churches, Oriental Orthodoxy and Protestant churches. Among these are numerous sects and denominations, each with its own set of beliefs and practices. Nonetheless, the central tenets — obedience to a single, supreme being, belief in a hereafter, and the existence of an immortal soul — continue to unify them to a great degree. 

Of the Christian religions, only the Orthodox sects continue to prohibit cremation and follow the Judaic traditions of ceremonial washing of the body and burial within 24 hours of death. Although cremation was prohibited by the Roman Catholic Church for centuries, it is now permitted (though still discouraged) as long as the ashes are buried or interred in a cemetery or a church COLUMBARIUM . Cardinal Gerhard Ludwig Müller, the prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, reiterated the Church’s position in 2016, stating, “We believe in the resurrection of the body, so burial is the normal form for the Christian faithful, especially Catholics.” With that being said, the Church has no prohibition against embalming, nor are any specific death care practices the norm. In most cases, the faithful are honored at a funeral mass before burial occurs.

Sources 

“Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith”. The Holy See. https://www.vatican.va/content/vatican/en.html 

“To Lie Down in Green Pastures: How the Catholic Church is leading the way in green burial”. Green Burial Council. https://www.greenburialcouncil.org/the-catholic-church-and-green-burial.html 

“Bury Me Green”. Heritage Universalist Unitarian Church. https://www.greenburialcouncil.org/uploads/1/2/4/2/124231485/bury_me_green_by_rev_bill_gupton.pdf 

“Mor(t)al Remains: Pastoral Theology and Corpse Care”. Journal of Pastoral Theology. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10649867.2019.1633036 

“Ministry on death and dying teaches people how to plan for the end of life”. Duke University. https://faithandleadership.com/ministry-death-and-dying-teaches-people-how-plan-the-end-life