Even the article you quoted says this publication doesn't prove that more religion = lower suicide rates. Did you even read the entire thing before posting it?
And again, this one doesn't prove anything, is only related to suicide attempts and not actual suicides, and has poor methodology associated with it. Did they even consider the fact that the non-theists were committing suicide due to the factors they failed to control for such the following "Unaffiliated subjects were younger, less often married, less often had children, and had less contact with family members", the very factors that showed the highest connection to suicides. The lack of a social network seems to play a larger part in suicides that religion. Also noted as is the possibility that some theists failed to make note of suicide attempts due to shame or guilt. This calls into question the entire data set given that the data they gathered was purely from surveys that people may or may not have been entirely truthful on.
Here are some other weaknesses as stated in the study:
"This study has some limitations. For example, it did not assess religious upbringing, religious practice, or the level of personal devotion. Therefore, it is possible that depressed patients who stated that they were atheists or had no religion had abandoned religion as a consequence of depression or hopelessness. It is notable that hopelessness and depression scores were similar in the religious and nonreligious group but that the two groups differed strongly on perceived reasons for living. This suggests that some positive aspect of religious affiliation overcame the negative effects of depression, stressful life events, and hopelessness. Perhaps this was also manifested in the presence of less suicidal ideation."
In fact none of your studies do anything more than show a correlation between lower suicide rates and religion and given the methodology used the results are suspect at best. This is especially true when other studies have been conducted that show no relation between depression and religion.
Here's the abstract for one such study:
http://journals.cambridge.org/action/di ... 1712003066
Abstract
Background Sev
eral studies have reported weak associations between religious or spiritual belief and psychological health. However, most have been cross-sectional surveys in the USA, limiting inference about generalizability. An international longitudinal study of incidence of major depression gave us the opportunity to investigate this relationship further.
Method Data were collected in a prospective cohort study of adult general practice attendees across seven countries. Participants were followed at 6 and 12 months. Spiritual and religious beliefs were assessed using a standardized questionnaire, and DSM-IV diagnosis of major depression was made using the Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI). Logistic regression was used to estimate incidence rates and odds ratios (ORs), after multiple imputation of missing data.
Results The analyses included 8318 attendees. Of participants reporting a spiritual understanding of life at baseline, 10.5% had an episode of depression in the following year compared to 10.3% of religious participants and 7.0% of the secular group (p < 0.001). However, the findings varied significantly across countries, with the difference being significant only in the UK, where spiritual participants were nearly three times more likely to experience an episode of depression than the secular group [OR 2.73, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.59–4.68]. The strength of belief also had an effect, with participants with strong belief having twice the risk of participants with weak belief. There was no evidence of religion acting as a buffer to prevent depression after a serious life event.
Conclusions These results do not support the notion that religious and spiritual life views enhance psychological well-being.
Here's an article about this study.
http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/dr-raj- ... 28675.html
Previously studies appeared to show that religious and spiritual beliefs may be protective for depression, and were associated with better well-being. It was a widely held view amongst psychiatrists (who are not, as a group, particularly religious) that religion and spirituality protected your mood from the vicissitudes of life's misfortunes.
But now, a very large study, which followed up people for a year, has found there is an opposite relationship between religious belief and depression. Religion, and even more, spirituality not tied to formal religion, appears to be unhelpful in terms of protecting you from low mood, and could even be linked with more depression.
A key finding of the study, conducted in several different counties, is that a spiritual life view predisposed to major depression, especially significantly in the UK, where spiritual participants were nearly three times more likely to experience an episode of depression than the secular group.
The results are startling because previous research found formally religious people had good mental health habits and lifestyle, for example, previous studies established they were less likely to have ever used drugs or to have been hazardous drinkers.
Entitled 'Spiritual and religious beliefs as risk factors for the onset of major depression: an international cohort study', the relationship with religious and spiritual belief was investigated in depth by researchers led by Professor Michael King from University College London. Over 8,000 people visiting general practices across seven countries were followed up at six and 12 months. The general practices were in the UK, Spain, Slovenia, Estonia, the Netherlands, Portugal and Chile. These general practices covered urban and rural populations with considerable socio-economic variation.
The study has just been published in one of the most respected academic psychiatric journals, 'Psychological Medicine'. It was conducted by researchers at several UK and European universities and Chile.
The study defined religion as meaning the practice of a faith, eg going to a temple, mosque, church or synagogue. Being 'spiritual' was defined as not formally following a religion, but having spiritual beliefs or experiences. For example, believing that there is some power or force other than yourself, which might influence life.
People who held a religious or spiritual understanding of life had a higher incidence of depression than those with a secular life view. However, this finding varied by country; in particular, people in the UK who had a spiritual understanding of life were the most vulnerable to the onset of major depression.
Regardless of country, the stronger the spiritual or religious belief at the start of the study, the higher the risk of onset of depression.
Although the main finding of an association between religious life understanding and onset of depression varied by country, there was no evidence that spirituality may protect people, and only weak evidence that a religious life view was possibly protective in two countries (Slovenia and the Netherlands).
The incidence of depression over the subsequent 12 months was similar across the different religious denominations (Catholic 9.8%, Protestant 10.9%, other religions 11.5%, no specific religion 10.8%).
Those with the more strongly held religious or spiritual convictions were twice as likely to experience major depression in the subsequent 12 months.
Although a religious, spiritual or secular outlook on life seems to be relatively stable in most people, slightly over a quarter of participants in this study changed their life view during the period of the study. And this was with a higher risk of depression for those changing to a more religious path, a lower risk for those moving in a secular direction.
Those in the process of developing a common mental disorder, like depression, may become involved in a 'search for meaning' for relief from symptoms, and this is one possible reason why previous research may have found a link between a religious or spiritual attitude, and poorer mental health.
That this study followed participants over a year, meant it was possible to demonstrate that it was more likely a spiritual and religious outlook which was leading to future lower mood, than the other way around.
Previous research had found that religion may have a protective effect during and after the impact of life events but this study did not find evidence of this.
The authors conclude that holding a religious or spiritual life perspective, in contrast to a secular outlook, predisposes to the onset of major depression. These beliefs and practice do not act as a buffer to adverse life events as had previously been thought.
But the authors acknowledge the wide variety of contrasting findings from other researchers in the field, make it difficult to come to a definitive conclusion as yet. The most that can be said with any certainty, they contend, is that if there is a link between religion/spirituality and psychological well-being, it is most probably weak.
After all, if religious belief has a powerful positive effect on mental health, they argue it should be detected in most studies.
The dramatic rise in New Age movements and other non-traditional faiths, perhaps the embracing of alternative belief systems as embodied by complimentary health care in the West, might reflect a growing search for meaning, as more traditional religious practice has declined sharply.
A previous study by a team led by psychiatrists Michael King and Paul Bebbington, published in the 'British Journal of Psychiatry', found spiritual people were more likely than those who were neither religious nor spiritual, to have used or to have been dependent on drugs, suffered from generalised anxiety disorder, any phobia or any neurotic disorder.
Professor Michael King sums up all the research to date by concluding maximum psychiatric vulnerability seems to stem from spirituality not tied to religion.
Some may examine this study and argue its results suggest that while many might still be looking for answers far and wide, ironically, it could be those less religious and spiritual, who might already have found them.
Now please, try to find something that was done under slightly better conditions.
Using the power of my fuzzy layman powers, it sounds to me that the social construct and framework of religion in the end overcomes the "if i commit suicide i get to go to heaven so I should commit suicide" factor. This suggests that what needs to happen is that secular organizations need to step up and do something to fill the void that is left if one decides to cut religion out of ones life, and thus religion itself is not an ideal solution, just the solution that happens to be present.
Not really, these studies are poorly done and admit that they can't actually take much away from them due to a number of different factors. Thanks for trying though.
Mind, the girl was 12. I doubt any of these considerations apply to her mental state specifically, and I am not certain the outcome would have been any different if she were raised in a hardcore secularist family, unless you are arguing that they would be more likely to notice she is feeling suicidal than a religious family would be, and that she would more easily accept the "daddy is gone forever" notion than the "daddy is waiting for me in heaven" notion.
Without knowing what the family did or didn't do to help her it's impossible to say how things might change with a more secular family and social circle. It is likely that they would have been more progressive and that means they may have better noticed the signs of serious depression, but that's hardly a given. I will also say that we've seen religious family's try to pray away medical issues before instead of seeking proper treatment, and while such cases are rare it does show that some religious people are less likely to get proper care for serious medical issues.
In any case it's pretty hard to argue that religion wasn't at least partly to blame here given the girls stated reason for killing herself was to be with her father in heaven.
