Cremation, public lands, and commerce
The U.S. Forest Service doesn't like the idea, because they see a "slippery slope" towards permanent monuments:
But the Forest Service has long had a firm policy against commercial scattering, said Gordon Schofield, the group leader for land use here in Region I. If ashes are scattered “the land takes on a sacredness, and people want to put up a marker or a plaque.”
The Ladies in White say their practice is environmentally benign, although they do accept that like other public-lands commercial users (guide services, for instance), they need a permit.
Currently, the official position on private scattering is "don't ask, don't tell." (Some of us writers do tell, however.)
What a wonderful tangle of American religious issues: "nature religion" in the broadest sense, the change in funerary practices, representatives of some Indian tribe sticking their oar in, the organized environmentalists, and the bureaucrats in the middle of it all.
Take a look at Catherine Goodman, the woman on the left. What is that on her head--antlers? a crescent crown?
Via Ann Althouse's blog, where there are lots of comments.
Labels: American religion, nature religion
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