Study by University of Antwerp shows openness to aquamation alongside burial and cremation
Nearly nine in ten people in Flanders (Belgium) believe they should be free to choose how they say their final goodbye, whether through burial, cremation or new forms of funeral such as aquamation. That is the outcome of academic research conducted by University of Antwerp among 3,275 residents of Flanders. Aquamation is an alternative funeral method in which the body is not cremated or buried, but is instead broken down in an accelerated process in a cylinder filled with warm water. One in five people in Flanders would consider aquamation if the method were legally permitted. The study shows that societal support in Flanders for making such new options available alongside existing forms of funeral is clearly growing.