Social justice and cemetery systems

Abstract

This paper applies social justice frameworks to “cemetery systems,” which here denotes the framework by which each nation state orders the disposal of the dead, and which generally includes burial, cremation and the interment or scattering of cremated remains. An application of social justice theory indicates the desirability of certain key principles for all cemetery systems: decent disposal as a human right; democratic accountability; equality of access to services regardless of income; freedom of religious expression; and environmental sustainability. Achieving these principles is not necessarily straightforward, and conflict between principles is heightened by financialization and population densification.

Acknowledgments

The author gratefully acknowledges the importance of meetings and discussions with Pepe Dass, Ioanna Paraskevopoulou, and Sergei Mokhov to the development of this paper, and thanks the reviewers for their insightful comments.

Notes

1 The concept of temporal inequality in cemetery provision was developed with Ioanna Paraskevopoulou during a tour of the Third Cemetery in Athens in 2019.