RELIGIOUS FAITH
AND THE INCIDENCE
OF SUICIDE
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Religion and suicide:
Persons who attend religious services, on
average, are generally believed to exhibit much lower rates of suicide. "Those who attend church
frequently are four times less likely to commit suicide than those who
never attend." 3,7 This affect is seen in
various studies which compare church attendance and suicide rates:
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Over time: "...fluctuations in church attendance rates in
the 1970s paralleled the suicide rates for different subgroups:
whites, blacks, men, and women." 4 |
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Among states in the U.S.: with varying attendance at religious
services. 5 |
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Among countries worldwide. 6 |
"In fact, the rate of church attendance predicts the suicide
rate better than any other factor (including unemployment, traditionally
regarded as the most powerful variable)." 3
What is not known is the degree to which the increased rate of
religious attendance and lower rates of suicide are directly related as
cause and effect. Other influences may be present, that are
unrelated to church attendance:
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Persons who are depressed are among the most likely to commit
suicide, and are less likely to attend church, synagogue, mosque,
temple, circle, etc. |
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Homosexuals have one of the highest suicide rates of any group in
society, and are often disinclined to attend church because of the
degree of rejection and homophobia there. |
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Attendance at religious services potentially gives individuals
access to a support network. Those without a support network are most
likely to commit suicide. |
Further complicating the matter is the unreliability of church
attendance data. These data are derived from public opinion polls. In
recent years, about 40% of adult Americans say that they regularly attend
religious services. Actual nose counting shows that half are lying; only
about 20% actually attend regularly.
Elder suicide in various countries:
One might expect that suicide rates among the elderly would be
lower in Catholic countries than in non-Catholic (including secular) societies
because of:
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Very negative religious beliefs taught by the Roman Catholic
and Eastern Orthodox churches about suicide.
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A tradition of extended families in these countries.
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However, according to an article published in the International
Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, elderly people in Roman Catholic and
Orthodox Christian countries are more likely to commit suicide than those in
either secular or Protestant countries. The researchers found that, for example,
elderly suicide rates are higher in Italy, Spain and Portugal than in the United
Kingdom or Scandinavian countries. Ireland is an exception. However, the low
suicide rate recorded there country may be due to systematic under-reporting
of actual suicides, motivated by a desire to spare relatives shame.
Among the 35 countries studied, researchers found that the:
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five countries with the highest elderly male suicide rates
per million were:
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Hungary at 1,785 per million
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Slovenia at 1,225,
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Austria at 1,168,
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Bulgaria at 1,125 and
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The Russian Federation at 1,093.
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five countries with the lowest elderly male rates were:
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New Zealand at 250,
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England and Wales at 163,
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Greece at 143,
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Ireland at 139,
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Scotland at 135.
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Author Colin Pritchard argues that suicide among the elderly
over the age of 75 is a sign of neglect and isolation. The extended family does
provide a support system in Latin countries. However, he said, "if you
don’t have children or you are unmarried then you are worse off than in
Britain." He commented that "Our findings were completely
unexpected. Suicide amongst elderly people is usually associated with ill
health, social isolation and exclusion. With elderly people in Catholic and
Orthodox countries tending to hold more traditional views on the family and
religion, we might have assumed that this would be reflected in lower suicide
rates, not higher...However, these results show that we need to rethink views on
suicide, and continue to improve provision of services for elderly people and
rid ourselves of ageist stereotypes. The majority of elderly suicides die
because they are inadequately supported and/or have poor medical care"
References
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Colin Pritchard & David Baldwin, "Effects of age and gender on elderly
suicide rates in Catholic and Orthodox countries: an inadvertent neglect?"
International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, Volume 15, Issue 10, 2000-OCT, Pages
904-910. See:
http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/issuetoc?
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Donald MacLeod, "Elderly suicides: The religious divide,"
Guardian Unlimited, 2001-FEB-5. See: http://www.societyguardian.co.uk/health/story/
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P.F. Fagan, "Why religion matters: The impact of religious
practice on social stability," at: http://www.heritage.org/library/categories/family/
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Steven Stack, "The Effect of Domestic-Religious Individualism on
Suicide, 1954-1978," Journal of Marriage and the Family,
Vol. 47 (1985), pp. 431-447. (Cited in Ref. 3)
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Steven Stack: "The Effects of Religious Commitment on Suicide: A
Cross-National Analysis," Journal of Health and Social Behavior,
Vol. 24 (1983), pp. 362-374. (Cited in Ref. 3)
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Williams, Larson, Buckler, Heckman, and Pyle, "Religion and
Psychological Distress in a Community Sample," pp. 1257-1262.
(Cited in Ref. 3)
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William T. Martin, "Religiosity and United States Suicide Rates,
1972-1978," Journal of Clinical Psychology, Vol. 40 (1984),
pp. 1166-1169. (Cited in Ref. 3)
Copyright © 2000 by Ontario Consultants on Religious
Tolerance
Originally written: 2001-FEB-6
Latest update: 2001-FEB-11
Author: B.A. Robinson 
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