Still more "benefits" of belief: fewer suicides

Religious lifestyle is associated with fewer suicide attempts, says the American Journal of Psychiatry.

I've written here twice previously (Nov. 2 and Nov. 21) of research findings that show religion is associated with positive mental health.

There's more today . The American Journal of Psychiatry reports that among depressed persons, those with a religious affiliation are far less likely to attempt to take their life. It does not seem to matte which religion they claim as their own--this is not "evidence" for Christianity, but it helps refute those who, following Freud and Schopenhauer, claim that religious belief signals mental weakness.

The article further states:

Oquendo and her team found that attempted suicide was most common among patients who did not think suicide was immoral and those with less feelings of family responsibility, both of which were most common among men and women with no religious affiliation.

"It appears that people who state they have a religious affiliation are more likely to have moral objections to suicide and may not act on suicidal thoughts because they think it is wrong to do so."

There's another valuable lesson here: morals matter. There was a time when that statement was not controversial. It may be disputed now by some, but it is true nevertheless.

Posted: Wed - December 29, 2004 at 05:18 PM |

Thinking Christian by Tom Gilson getCategoryName("<$CategoryUUID$>");

Still more "benefits" of belief: fewer suicides

Thinking Christian by Tom Gilson