The way Americans make meaning of death has changed dramatically over the last several decades. Declining religious belief has led to a decline in our observance of the traditions of burial and mourning. When the body is no longer a sacred vessel, then its care after death may no longer seem to be of vital importance. It is easy enough to move the corpse offstage in the name of hygiene and decorum. And why gather in a church when you could go to the ballpark or the driving range or the bird sanctuary, places that may have meant more to the decedent in life anyway?
The way we observe a death is expressive of our sense of a life’s meaning, of its shape and the terms of its success or failure. The “last ride” for a biker; the gun salute for a soldier; the Jack Daniel’s poured over the grave of a drinking buddy: We may have to make do without religion, but we can’t do without our symbols. Even so, the way we do death in the United States now more and more expresses our lack of ontological confidence. We no longer seem certain that life means anything at all.