Discussion Does religion make people less suicidal?

[jesse]

I wonder if, on a macro level, religious conviction reduces suicidality...
OR: The underlying causes of suicidality decreases religious conviction?

Personally, it was the latter for me.

 

[Pen>Sword]

So, I went for a walk/run and in a moment, I crossed paths with a Christian guy who yelled at me: "JESUS LOVES YOU. HE'S YOUR FRIEND AND WANTS YOU TO LIVE AND BELIEVE IN HIM. " and I was like "Damn, how does this guy know that I don't believe in Jesus or any God? Do I have an atheist/agnostic face?" Lol

Anyway, he was so happy that I thought, "wow, guys like him love life and Jesus so much that they will probably never ctb. "

Of course, there are many religious people who ctb no matter what, but, I bet the non-believers are more.

Thus, I wonder, does religion make people less suicidal? Fearing a God who will probably punish you if you kill yourself (depending on the religion) helps believers to keep on living?

I wish I could believe in something (well, I believe in the simulation theory LOL), I mean, in a God who's taking care of me and saving all those little children and innocent people who die but I just can't. I just gotta see in order to believe but I wonder...would I be less suicidal if I got my faith back again? (I used to be a Catholic and was really scared of hell haha)

Practicing Catholic here. Yes, my religion delay my suicidal act. I haven't attempted any suicide methods yet. I credit that to my belief. Being afraid of hell is a deterrence for me, but the greatest deterrence is the fact that God loves no matter what, even though He may seem mute or inactive.

Every prayer I do gives me temporary relief. Every time the priest raises the literal Body and Blood of Christ give me temporary comfort. He died for me. He loves me. He would sacrifice Himself again even if I'm the only person in this world. Receiving communion makes me the happiest person temporarily, believing that I'm literally in one with God.

Now for the practical purposes. During confession with a priest guarantees complete privacy and for the most part, anonymity. The concept of "Seal of Confession" is sacred. Any priest or layman who heard or overheard confession and breaks it will be automatically excommunicated, and only the pope himself may reverse it. Priests would rather go to jail or even die if they were forced to reveal the sins or future sins. The pope does not even have the authority or right to ask the confessor of the sins of confessee. There are pros and cons, especially with all the controversy within the Holy Church.

Why did I include this? Well, there are no mandatory reporting laws in the canon law when it comes to confession. I can say that I'm going to commit suicide tonight. Suicide is a sin, but the priest is not allowed to disclose or act upon this information to anybody even if it is harmful to self or others (I've never harmed anybody before).

This allows me to confess my sins or actions such as suicide without fearing being reported to the police for "wellness check". Plus, the priest will try to comfort you in the time of need. I find comfort that I can tell a priest with total confidence that he will listen to me with complete heart and mind without worrying of surprise "wellness checks". Who knows that priests may have saved lives, and we don't know the statistics due to the seal of confession. Saying my sins and my suicidal intentions may will lift my emotional burden and transferred to the priest and God.

 

[Buffy5120]

So, I went for a walk/run and in a moment, I crossed paths with a Christian guy who yelled at me: "JESUS LOVES YOU. HE'S YOUR FRIEND AND WANTS YOU TO LIVE AND BELIEVE IN HIM. " and I was like "Damn, how does this guy know that I don't believe in Jesus or any God? Do I have an atheist/agnostic face?" Lol

Anyway, he was so happy that I thought, "wow, guys like him love life and Jesus so much that they will probably never ctb. "

Of course, there are many religious people who ctb no matter what, but, I bet the non-believers are more.

Thus, I wonder, does religion make people less suicidal? Fearing a God who will probably punish you if you kill yourself (depending on the religion) helps believers to keep on living?

I wish I could believe in something (well, I believe in the simulation theory LOL), I mean, in a God who's taking care of me and saving all those little children and innocent people who die but I just can't. I just gotta see in order to believe but I wonder...would I be less suicidal if I got my faith back again? (I used to be a Catholic and was really scared of hell haha)

No im religious & still suicidal

 

[Ksab]

Not true for everybody though, it's because of my religion that I'm CTBing

 

[aneurysm]

Religion makes even more sense in our world. It's an escape from capitalistic mindset.
Often, people who see themselves as more rational than others are surprised to hear that "Jesus exist because it's written in the Bible" but are okay with "2+2=4 because... 2+2=4". Math proves maths with math all the time. Science proves science with science, so why is everyone intolerant of religion wanting to prove itself with itself.

i used to hate religion and see it as a political tool. my family is Muslim. But now, with the extension of capitalism/materialism and the rise of authoritarian science, I'm glad I'm Muslim. I belong to a community that doesn't only value the materialistic world. This is the true value of religion: belonging with people who value you regardless of you being rich or poor, because their religion and belief system tells them that your value is transcendantal. Unlike capitalism, who reduce people to what they possess.

 

[demuic]

To bring our divine talks to earth I would like to bring to all of you another point of view at any religion.

Forget for a moment about all metaphisical stuff that is present in religions, like gods, miracles and stuff like that.

What we get are gathered together rules and advices on how to live your life.
With gods its easier to wrap them into a metaphor that is easly understood by people from all eras.

You don't have to be decided and sure that this god exist or not. Very valuable thing you can gain from Sacred Books of religions is that knowledge, to be used as a guide through ethics and morals, life.

*I'm not talking here about corruption in hierarchy in religious structures and things like that, only about theory that stands behind religious ideas

Anyway like @Life_and_Death said, we are our own gods so it's only reasonable to take them as a guide

People trying to use ethics from religion as a guide has only lead to more suffering.

 

[sorella santini]

There are studies that show religion is protective against suicide, but not suicide ideation. So plenty of God fearing people might want to ctb, but don't act on it.

A part of me wishes I could have faith in something.

 

[watchingthewheels]

There are studies that show religion is protective against suicide, but not suicide ideation. So plenty of God fearing people might want to ctb, but don't act on it.

A part of me wishes I could have faith in something.

It's funny. I was once a hard-core atheist, after growing up Christian, and I tried to talk people out of religion using reason and logic. Now, I don't, because for many people, it's what keeps them holding on. Am I ready to take the responsibility of taking away their hope?

 

[wolfsoul]

Becoming atheist made me less suicidal for a long time. I was growing up christian. Contradictions within the theology and the moral construct made me feel very bad. I was feeling alot of guilt because this is how this religion works and controls you.
Now as an atheist i am still suicidal but because of real reasons. I think if i still would be religious i would be dead already. Of course this is only my personal experience with religion.

 

[LastFlowers]

Ignorance is bliss.

Also, like you said, they are instilled with the fear of god, Suicide can be viewed as a punishable sin. Which is pretty laughable, considering the whole reason we kill ourselves is because we were already punished severely by life.
Religion is a joke. Some people laugh at it, some take it seriously. It probably does give certain individuals a purpose, but it's all based on magical thinking and I want no part of it.
Too many people get away with special treatment, criminal acts, and delusional thought processes, all in the name of religion or "spirituality". I have actually been quite distressed in the past from having other people's religious beliefs forced onto me. Even when I have gone out of my way to keep my mouth shut and respect their stance to the best of my ability, without forsaking myself.
I have learned that you cannot be lenient with those invested in religion or the belief in God, they will take it as an opening to indoctrinate you.

 

[Stevo]

I wonder if, on a macro level, religious conviction reduces suicidality...
OR: The underlying causes of suicidality decreases religious conviction?

Personally, it was the latter for me.

I am religious. However, I do not believe God wants us to suffer and our life gets worse with pain. This is why we can mkae our choices.

 

[nolongerhuman]

My branch of religion didn't believe that suicide was a one way ticket to hell if you already believed but you still weren't supposed to so I spent a some time hoping God would kill me so I didn't have to do it myself. I think there's some merit to the idea that if you wholeheartedly believe in an afterlife of eternal bliss it might make you more willing to stick out the endurance test of life a bit longer out of a belief that it is a mere 'blip' in the face of eternity. However, the realization that the god I believed in would hate me no matter what I did due to factors beyond my control did not help my mental health to say the least. Religion stops being a comfort when you sin just by existing.

 

[motel rooms]

If it makes them less suicidal because they're able to believe that their God is good/omnibenevolent, then they're lucky fuckers.
If they're scared that their vengeful God will torture them forever if they ctb, then they're in hell already. Wish I could help them, but there's no reasoning with religious people

 

[FuneralCry]

I think many religious people are put off by the idea of suicide as they fear the thought of judgement for doing the act, they believe there is some sort of hell they will be sent to as suicide is essentially an act against our human nature. I think religion makes people think their life has some sort of deeper meaning and it gives them something to live for, so they are more likely just to suffer through life.
I think most atheists like me believe that life is just pointless and we return to the empty void where we came from after we die. So they won't be hesitant to ctb. The idea of any higher power existing just doesn't seem logical to me especially in this cruel world

 

[motel rooms]

Christian Saints Who Committed Suicide

 

[NormaJeane]

So, I went for a walk/run and in a moment, I crossed paths with a Christian guy who yelled at me: "JESUS LOVES YOU. HE'S YOUR FRIEND AND WANTS YOU TO LIVE AND BELIEVE IN HIM. " and I was like "Damn, how does this guy know that I don't believe in Jesus or any God? Do I have an atheist/agnostic face?" Lol

Anyway, he was so happy that I thought, "wow, guys like him love life and Jesus so much that they will probably never ctb. "

Of course, there are many religious people who ctb no matter what, but, I bet the non-believers are more.

Thus, I wonder, does religion make people less suicidal? Fearing a God who will probably punish you if you kill yourself (depending on the religion) helps believers to keep on living?

I wish I could believe in something (well, I believe in the simulation theory LOL), I mean, in a God who's taking care of me and saving all those little children and innocent people who die but I just can't. I just gotta see in order to believe but I wonder...would I be less suicidal if I got my faith back again? (I used to be a Catholic and was really scared of hell haha)

If the suffering is stonger than the fact that we are programmed to live, all people will become suicidal. Where I live, most people are not religious and they are against suicide, but these people have never suffered and I belive that they are stupid.

 

[happylilsht]

No. I was suicidal when i was religious i was just delusional that a god will make it better kek

 

[Beachedwhale]

Not necessarily. I became religious in my teens because I didn't accept being gay and thought there was something wrong with me for seeking out sex with older men. It's weird that I did this because my parents are not that religious at all. I thought religion would make me happy and get rid of my "urges" as I used to call them, and I didn't have any friends so I was kind of living in a bubble. I was in a religious country and there werent really any child therapists there at that time. I spent too much time focused on religion and so all other means of help were closed off to me mentally. And I used religion to motivate me to get good grades (translation: to push myself beyond my physical limits which backfired and ended up in burnout). I had a very privileged life and yet I was depressed thanks to religious guilt. Religion didn't address my fear but probably enhanced it with all the stupid rituals you need to do perfectly (I was a Muslim). It's like OCD. It didnt address the root cause of my issues and merely added guilt and self loathing on top.

I found out about spirituality which changed my views on religion and eventually realised that it's OK to be gay. Then I left religion and had nothing. Zero confidence, zero crutches. So I messed up my life closing off great opportunities and living far below my potential out of fear and self loathing, and now here I am on the brink of death.

Religion made me suicidal. Religion is one of the most unnecessary and damaging things our species has created.

 

[All Things Must Pass]

"JESUS LOVES YOU. HE'S YOUR FRIEND AND WANTS YOU TO LIVE AND BELIEVE IN HIM. "

Then why don't he just show up and talk to me, or anyone? Theists are so fucking stupid lol

 

[filthyrottendirty]

I have religion and I'm still suicidal

 

[WornOutLife]

Then why don't he just show up and talk to me, or anyone? Theists are so fucking stupid lol

I think they even think we're all Jesus because that guy also told me something like : "YOU ARE JESUS AND HE LOVES YOU SO YOU LOVE YOURSELF!"
Wow, amazing logic huh? lol

 

[jensrij7]

there seem to be studies around the subject

Does religion protect against suicide?

Religious participation is linked to lower suicide rates in many parts of the world, including the United States and Russia, but does not protect against the risk of suicide in sections of Europe and Asia, according to new research.

www.sciencedaily.com

Parents' spirituality or religion tied to lower suicide risk in kids

Kids are less likely to think about suicide or attempt to kill themselves if religion or spirituality is important to their parents, a small study suggests.

www.reuters.com

 

[WornOutLife]

there seem to be studies around the subject

Does religion protect against suicide?

Religious participation is linked to lower suicide rates in many parts of the world, including the United States and Russia, but does not protect against the risk of suicide in sections of Europe and Asia, according to new research.

www.sciencedaily.com

Parents' spirituality or religion tied to lower suicide risk in kids

Kids are less likely to think about suicide or attempt to kill themselves if religion or spirituality is important to their parents, a small study suggests.

www.reuters.com

Niiice!
Gonna check them out!

 

[charcoalcat]

Imo religions were invented by smarter people in the distant past to prevent the general population from behaving like barbarians and commiting suicide.

 

[312]

When I went to church I was a less suicidal person, but that "trait" of my personality never disappeared because it had been a part of me for many years. I understand well people who stick to religions, whatever, because in a way they help in everyday life and make people believe in something, so yes, I believe that they make people less suicidal.

 

[All Things Must Pass]

Imo religions were invented by smarter people in the distant past to prevent the general population from behaving like barbarians and commiting suicide.

If that was true (it wasn't lol) Islam is certainly an exception.

 

[motel rooms]

When I went to church I was a less suicidal person, but that "trait" of my personality never disappeared because it had been a part of me for many years. I understand well people who stick to religions, whatever, because in a way they help in everyday life and make people believe in something, so yes, I believe that they make people less suicidal.

Do you think that most religions make LGBTQ+ kids & adults less suicidal?

 

[StupidLizard]

I wish I were very religious. It must be nice. I do not judge those that are spiritual or religious. I used to. Its easy to feel a false sense of superiority as an athiest to religion followers. I used to consider myself one; not so much anymore.

If religion gives helps someone find their own life purpose, whatever that may be, then so be it.
Having no purpose in life is easy. Finding your own purpose is hard.

 

[motel rooms]

I do not judge those that are spiritual or religious. I used to. Its easy to feel a false sense of superiority as an athiest to religion followers.

I judge religious bigots & I'm not ashamed of it. Horse manure is superior to them

 

[StupidLizard]

I judge religious bigots & I'm not ashamed of it. Horse manure is superior to them

OK.... Religious bigots =/= religious followers. No one said to be ashamed of judging hateful people.
I am not religious. But, I can acknowledge that religion itself serves a universal purpose; that is, offering humanity a purpose.