Religious Affiliation May Lower Suicide Risk

Kire

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Tue Dec-28-04 01:39 AM
Original message

Religious Affiliation May Lower Suicide Risk

I'm getting "Durheim Deja Vu".

Religious Affiliation May Lower Suicide Risk

Mon Dec 27, 2:05 PM ET

By Charnicia E. Huggins

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Depressed men and women who consider themselves affiliated with a religion are less likely to attempt suicide than their non-religious counterparts, according to new study findings.

"If someone acknowledges being religious, all else being equal, they are at lower risk to act on suicidal thoughts than someone who does not acknowledge religious affiliation," study co-author Dr. Maria A. Oquendo told Reuters Health.

Further, she added, "it does not appear to make a difference what religion they state their affiliation for."

Previous research has shown that religious countries tend to have lower rates of suicide than secular nations. Studies have also shown that a higher degree of religious commitment is associated with less suicidal behavior.

More: http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=571&u=/nm/20041227/hl_nm/suicide_religion_dc&printer=1

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purduejake

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Tue Dec-28-04 01:41 AM
Response to Original message

1. Because most religions that I know of play on fear...

and people think they will burn in hell if they kill themselves.

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Sleepless In NY

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Tue Dec-28-04 01:44 AM
Response to Reply #1

2. Not if you work at the Crystal Cathedral it sure doesnt

their conductor just did himself in.

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GreenPartyVoter

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Tue Dec-28-04 02:55 PM
Response to Reply #1

8. Agreed

Would Jesus love a liberal? You bet!
http://timeforachange.bluelemur.com/

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latteromden

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Tue Dec-28-04 01:45 AM
Response to Original message

3. Is it that religion decreases the suicide risk, or not having a religion

increases it, possibly due to the feeling that a lot of the world holds now that not believing in any or any specific religion makes you a bad person and persecution?

Interesting, in any case.

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shraby

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Tue Dec-28-04 02:23 AM
Response to Reply #3

4. It may decrease suicide risk

but it sure is dangerous to children. Didn't one just cut off her baby's arms and a couple of years ago one drowned all her children? Both cases were horrific, but both had religious undercurrents as contributing reasons for their deranged behavior.

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trotsky

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Tue Dec-28-04 08:44 AM
Response to Original message

5. Not surprising at all.

It helps explain why humans developed the "god gene." There is no getting around the fact that atheism is a bleak position. Either you manage to live with that, and find strength in it, or you give up out of despair. I'm not an atheist because the position is attractive, I'm an atheist because I think it is the only logically tenable position.

But people despondent over atheism are more likely to commit suicide, thus conferring a selective advantage to individuals with the predisposition to god beliefs and the ability to put aside all those upsetting thoughts about the uncaring nature of the universe.

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mcscajun

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Tue Dec-28-04 10:49 AM
Response to Original message

6. They talk about suicide like it's a bad thing.

Sometimes it is; certainly if you believe you'll burn in hell, it is.

If you leave behind you people who needed your emotional, financial or physical support, it definitely is.

But sometimes, it's just a rational decision that it's check-out time; and certainly atheists will have far less trouble making that decision than someone who believes there's a sky-god who's gonna punish them for it.

That would certainly skew the statistics, but doesn't mean that faith is better than no faith, which is the intention of the article.

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Lydia Leftcoast

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Tue Dec-28-04 02:18 PM
Response to Original message

7. Religious depressed people have a support system that

non-affiliated people lack.

It has nothing to do with fear of hell and everything to do with the social ties that grow within religious communities. You become very much involved in the lives and problems of people with whom you would otherwise never come into contact. It would be difficult--not impossible, since religious people sometimes do commit suicide--but difficult for someone to be in a suicidal depression and have no one notice.

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Wed Dec-29-04 11:29 PM
Response to Original message

9. We are social creatures

Naturally those of us that form bonds with others in structured and positive settings are going to find support when we need it most. Those lacking such extended families are going to find themself alone when the world around them seems darkest.

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