Can Religion Protect Against Suicide?

Abstract

The vast majority of the world's population is affiliated with a religious belief structure, and each of the major faith traditions (in its true form) is strongly opposed to suicide. Ample literature supports the protective effect of religious affiliation on suicide rates. Proposed mechanisms for this protective effect include enhanced social network and social integration, the degree of religious commitment, and the degree to which a particular religion disapproves of suicide. We review the sociological data for these effects and the general objections to suicide held by the faith traditions. We explore how clinicians may use such knowledge with individual patients, including routinely taking a religious/spiritual history. The clinician who is aware of the common themes among the faith traditions in opposition to suicide is better prepared to address religious/spiritual matters, as appropriate, in crisis situations. The clinician who understands the patient's belief system is also better prepared to request consultation with religious professionals when indicated.

God Bless You? The Association of Religion and Spirituality with Reduction of Suicide Ideation and Length of Hospital Stay among Psychiatric Patients at Risk for Suicide

“…Some religious patients may also feel guilty about their suicidal ideation (Norko et al., ), nullifying the protective effect of R&S in these patients. It has also been suggested that spiritual struggles can cause suicidal crisis (Currier, McDermott, McCormick, Churchwell, & Milkeris, ), however, from our experience, this was rarely mentioned as cause by patients, though we did not systematically explored this risk factor.…”

“…Unfortunately, we did not assess if therapists systematically prompted for R&S and actively included R&S in treatment. Furthermore, match or mismatch of patents and therapists R&S may lead to transference/countertransference issues that can be positive or negative for the progress in treatment (Norko et al., ). However, we think that this alternative hypothesis is unlikely to completely explain our findings.…”

“…Religion and spirituality (R&S) were found to be negatively associated with suicidal behavior and, less so, with suicide ideation, in the majority of studies (Colucci & Martin, ; Gearing & Lizardi, ; Koenig, ; Koenig, King, & Carson, ; Lawrence, Oquendo, & Stanley, ; Norko et al., ; Stack & Kposowa, ; Stack & Laubepin, ; Wu, Wang, & Jia, ). R&S may be powerful resources to cope with mental distress, given the generally negative associations with suicidal behavior.…”

“…R&S may be powerful resources to cope with mental distress, given the generally negative associations with suicidal behavior. Different mechanisms how R&S protect against suicide have been discussed: moral objections to die by suicide, commitment to life‐saving beliefs (e.g., hell as punishment after suicide), religious coping with distress by providing hope and trust, or by reframing suffering, finding meaning, or prohibiting substance abuse (van den Brink, Schaap, & Braam, ; Koenig et al., ; Lawrence et al., ; Norko et al., ; Paloutzian & Park, ; Stack & Kposowa, ). Another factor may be enhanced social support, for example, via church attendance (Lawrence et al., ; Stack & Kposowa, ).…”

“…Research from depression treatment hints that religiousness is prospectively associated with faster response and remission in clinical studies (Koenig, ; Norko et al., ). For example, religious coping assessed at baseline was associated with greater prospective reduction in depression symptoms among geriatric patients (Bosworth, Park, McQuoid, Hays, & Steffens, ).…”