(CNN) The days of most Americans choosing a casket and traditional graveside ceremony for their funerals are over. "Cost is a driving factor," said Mike Nicodemus, licensed funeral director and vice president of cremation services for the NFDA. The same statistics show the cost of a direct cremation in 2016 was $2,400. On the religious front, the Vatican has been loosening the rules on cremation since the 1960s. Fewer people consider themselves religious today than in the past, lessening the need for a traditional funeral in a church.

Source: CNN January 23, 2020 02:26 UTC