Burying the dead is, according to Christian belief, one of the corporal works of mercy:
In the days of Shalmaneser I performed many acts of charity to my brethren. I would give my bread to the hungry and my clothing to the naked; and if I saw any one of my people dead and thrown out behind the wall of Nineveh, I would bury him.
The bodies of the dead must be treated with respect and charity, in faith and hope of the Resurrection. The burial of the dead is a corporal work of mercy; it honors the children of God, who are temples of the Holy Spirit.
Praying for the souls of the dead is one of the spiritual works of mercy:
This teaching is also based on the practice of prayer for the dead, already mentioned in Sacred Scripture: "Therefore [Judas Maccabeus] made atonement for the dead, that they might be delivered from their sin." From the beginning the Church has honored the memory of the dead and offered prayers in suffrage for them, above all the Eucharistic sacrifice, so that, thus purified, they may attain the beatific vision of God. The Church also commends almsgiving, indulgences, and works of penance undertaken on behalf of the dead: "Let us help and commemorate them. If Job's sons were purified by their father's sacrifice, why would we doubt that our offerings for the dead bring them some consolation? Let us not hesitate to help those who have died and to offer our prayers for them."
I don't have anything against any of the above. If that's what you (and/or others) choose to do, knock yourself out and more power to you.
But argument from authority[0] isn't a real argument, especially since the tenets of the Catholic Church are based upon the idea that there's an invisible sky daddy somewhere who actually gives a rat's ass about humans.
That's laughable at best and (as history has shown over[1] and over[2][3][4][5] again) often causes brutal, evil deeds to be done to others.
So yeah, if an imaginary sky daddy fries your clams then, by all means, pay attention to what other believers in such fakery claim. And go right ahead -- I have no issue with it. But don't expect me to buy into that particular pile of horse manure.
I was not attempting to make an argument from authority. Instead, I was offering a perspective from Christian beliefs re: your "make oneself feel more compassionate ... does nothing for the deceased".
Rather than leave it hand-wavy ("because of God and stuff") I cited Sacred Scripture and the Catechism to show that respectful burial and praying for the souls of the dead are positive obligations of the Christian faithful per the precept of charity, at least according to Catholic belief.
In the context of the OP, the sense of religious and moral obligation is not necessarily present, I grant that.
As for the rest of your reply to me, well ... for one, what do you hope to accomplish with such condescending language?
Re: "brutal, evil deeds", that seems to fall in the category of the problem of evil. More specifically, a variation along of the lines of: "If God has revealed Himself as Christians claim, and arranged it such that the transmission of that revelation across time and space is so crucial, then why does He permit Christians, especially their leadership, to commit evil acts, since those acts can so easily detract from their credibility?"
Those are just things to think about. I don't intend to make another reply in this thread.
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Tobit+1%3A16-17...
– Catechism of the Catholic Church, para. 2300http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc/p3s2c2a5.htm#2300
Praying for the souls of the dead is one of the spiritual works of mercy:
– Catechism of the Catholic Church, para. 1032http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc/p123a12.htm#1032