Since each denomination has its own beliefs, what is acceptable and normal in one denomination, may not be acceptable in another. You may also find a wide range of what is considered "acceptable" even within the same denomination. Most Protestant Denominations both endorse and encourage organ and tissue donation.
United Methodists are generally permissive on this point. Rev. Hoyt Hickman, who helped create the United Methodist Church's funeral and memorial services, says, “The denomination has no proscriptions against cremation”. He went on to indicate, “all of the denomination's liturgical resources clearly indicate the act as an option.”
Baptists, being congregational by nature do not have a strong doctrinal position on cremation, noting, however, that ground burial has been the norm in Bible times, as well as having been shown by the example of Jesus Christ. Christians have traditionally held that burial shows respect for the body that will one day be resurrected with Christ. Nonetheless, there is no strong proscription of cremation, and Dr. Billy Graham has stated that cremation has no effect on the status of the resurrected body.
Unitarian-Universalists are regarded as the most cremation-friendly of all denominations. Cremation or body donation followed by cremation is considered normative, and a memorial with body present is almost never performed.
The Anglican Church, and its American branch, the Episcopal Church is generally favorable to cremation. "The Church of England, for example, which once opposed cremation, has dropped its restrictions against the practice. Its support of cremation influenced, in turn, the Episcopal Church in the United States. Most American Protestant denominations, including Methodist, Presbyterian, the Society of Friends (Quakers), Christian Science, Seventh-Day Adventists, and Jehovah’s Witnesses, permit cremation."
Baptists, being congregational by nature do not have a strong doctrinal position on cremation, noting, however, that ground burial has been the norm in Bible times, as well as having been shown by the example of Jesus Christ. Christians have traditionally held that burial shows respect for the body that will one day be resurrected with Christ. Nonetheless, there is no strong proscription of cremation, and Dr. Billy Graham has stated that cremation has no effect on the status of the resurrected body.
Unitarian-Universalists are regarded as the most cremation-friendly of all denominations. Cremation or body donation followed by cremation is considered normative, and a memorial with body present is almost never performed.
The Anglican Church, and its American branch, the Episcopal Church is generally favorable to cremation. "The Church of England, for example, which once opposed cremation, has dropped its restrictions against the practice. Its support of cremation influenced, in turn, the Episcopal Church in the United States. Most American Protestant denominations, including Methodist, Presbyterian, the Society of Friends (Quakers), Christian Science, Seventh-Day Adventists, and Jehovah’s Witnesses, permit cremation."
(Funerals Consumer’s last Rights, by the Editors of Consumer Reports)
