Does religious belief contribute to suicide?

[C1ay]

When you consider all of those that commit suicide, what percentage think they are moving on to an afterlife, i.e. heaven, hell, reincarnation, etc. versus those that believe it is simply the end of the one and only shot they get at life? Obviously suicide bombers think they are going to a better place but what about the average suicide? Do you think a person's religious belief contributes to their decision? For me it's easier to understand the reasons of those that think they're moving on compared to those that believe there is no afterlife. How about you?

[Queso]

yeah...i could never imagine ending the one life i had.

to move onto a better place would be a lot easier...but too unrealistic for me. suicide is a very powerful thing. i've pondered it quite a bit, but never the kind of thinking to do it or anything, that's not me.

religious belief has to contribute to suicide.

christianity, for example, in my opinion scares the crap out of their followers saying you will have an afterlife in hell if you commit suicide. so nobody dares.

quite a nice gimmick if you ask me.

[kaelcarp]

Actually, from everything I've read on it, the more religious people are, the less likely they are to commit suicide. This isn't necessrily due to the religion itself, but to the community formed by religion. There is a negative correlation between the degree of structure within the religion and suicidality of people. For example, atheists are more likely than most protestants to kill themselves, and protestants are more likely than most Catholics.

 

I guess it's because we're social creatures. A feeling of isolation and lack of community, a feeling that there is no one looking out for us must enhance suicidality. Remember, too, that many religions strictly forbid suicide. Those that do require that you do it gloriously in advance of the religion. Since most suicidal people are not in the mood to do something glorious, I guess that might help.

 

I'm an atheist myself, and I would have thought the opposite, but like I said, that's what I've read. I'd try to find some sources, but I don't quite have the time right now.

[bumab]

christianity, for example, in my opinion scares the crap out of their followers saying you will have an afterlife in hell if you commit suicide. so nobody dares.

quite a nice gimmick if you ask me.

 

Only hardcore Catholics state that, to my knowledge.

 

Intersting about those statistics, kaelcarp. I wonder what the proportions are. Do you remember where you found that data?

[IrishEyes]

christianity, for example, in my opinion scares the crap out of their followers saying you will have an afterlife in hell if you commit suicide. so nobody dares.

Only hardcore Catholics state that, to my knowledge.

I agree, it's mostly Catholics that forbid suicide. Please feel free to correct me if I'm wrong (and I know you all will :) ), but many religions do not expressly forbid suicide.

I belong to a Fundamental religion, and suicide is not forbidden. Noone prays over the body of someone that has committed suicide, hoping to get them into heaven. That's not to say that it is encouraged - far from it. But it is also known that suicide is not a mortal sin.

However, I agree that the church community is often a big deterrent to suicide. Our church is made up of all sorts of people from many different walks of life. We have former Catholics, former Mormons, former JWs, etc. Now they're church members, and even mroe, members of an 'urban family' (my new favorite term, thank you Bridget Jones!). If someone is down, there are lots of people that notice. We try to help each other through the tough times, and it's great to know that there are at least 200 people outside of my family that actually care what happens to me on a daily basis.

Suicide is not an option for me, but that hasn't always been the case. You guys know some of my history, and that was part of my past as well. I still have the scars on my wrist to prove it, and I can't tell you how many pill bottles were emptied when I was younger.

Personally, I found that it was much easier to consider suicide when I had no belief in God, and thought that this world was all I had, especially when this world sucked so bad! Well, the world still sucks, but I don't think I'm going through it alone anymore. I think that my belief in God lends me strength to get through the days, though some are still tougher than others. I still wonder why, and I still worry, but I've learned to lean on others, and not think that I have to fight the whole world to stay alive. Yes, I believe in an afterlife, but I'm more than willing to wait until it's time for me to be there. I have no burning desire to leave this life right now.

I'm doing a search to see if I can find those stats, and will post them if they are available. Anyone else that finds anything solid is encouraged to share it as well.

[pgrmdave]

In my expericance, suicide is an escape from the pain in this world. Many suicidal people would rather there be no afterlife - they want to feel nothing, to be devoid of life, because they don't believe that they will ever feel good.

[kaelcarp]

Only hardcore Catholics state that, to my knowledge.

 

Intersting about those statistics, kaelcarp. I wonder what the proportions are. Do you remember where you found that data?

This is probably about 10 years ago that I read it, probably in a Psychology Today magazine or something like that. If I get the chance today, I'll look it up. It's possible that it has since been disproven, since I don't remember much about the details.

[kaelcarp]

According to this study,

Age, sex, educational experience, and religious persuasion failed to distinguish between suicide attempters and nonattempters (Table 1). Of note, the depressed non-Caucasians were significantly less likely to have attempted suicide than were the depressed Caucasians. Number, duration, and objective severity of depressive episodes also failed to distinguish the suicide attempters from nonattempters. However, the difference in number of episodes of major depression was nearly significant (p=0.053). Moreover, the suicide attempters reported significantly greater subjective depression, hopelessness, and suicidal ideation than the nonattempters (Table 1). No difference in the distribution of unipolar versus bipolar depression could be detected, as there were only three patients with bipolar disorder in the study group (Fisher’s two-tailed p=0.59).

 

So it found no correlation at all between religious persuasion and suicidality.

 

According to the study described here,

“We found that youths’ reports of religiosity were somewhat protective against feelings of suicidality. Other research supports this finding, but it is only one factor of importance,” said O’Donnell.

I suppose the jury is at least partially still out. Everything I can find says either that religion has no effect or that it hinders feelings of suicidality.

[motherengine]

When you consider all of those that commit suicide, what percentage think they are moving on to an afterlife, i.e. heaven, hell, reincarnation, etc. versus those that believe it is simply the end of the one and only shot they get at life? Obviously suicide bombers think they are going to a better place but what about the average suicide? Do you think a person's religious belief contributes to their decision? For me it's easier to understand the reasons of those that think they're moving on compared to those that believe there is no afterlife. How about you?

 

heard an interesting radio program concerning suicide bombers the other day. seems like alot of the young people who do this may just be depressed/disturbed teens manipulated by radicals to kill innocents for a political rage they (the teens) do not necessarily share. one young girl in particular was questioned and expressed confusion and depression as her state of mind before she was pick up due to the loss of a boyfriend among other things. needless to say she changed her mind at the scene and was returned home.

[C1ay]

heard an interesting radio program concerning suicide bombers the other day. seems like alot of the young people who do this may just be depressed/disturbed teens manipulated by radicals to kill innocents for a political rage they (the teens) do not necessarily share. one young girl in particular was questioned and expressed confusion and depression as her state of mind before she was pick up due to the loss of a boyfriend among other things. needless to say she changed her mind at the scene and was returned home.

 

I wholely realize that the large majority of these kamikazes are brainwashed into following the whims of someone too cowardly to commit the act themselves. I just wonder how many of them think they are moving on to another life.