Does Religion Affect Suicide in Any Way?

 By Suicide Catastrophes

19 October, 2020

Religion creates a boundary between any wrongdoings and human beings. It sets the boundary in a way that it can determine what’s wrong and write along with the consequences of it. Religion tells people what would get them rewarded and what would get them punished. Suicide is a forbidden activity in almost every religion. Most people reach the ultimate version of their religious phase at older age. Young people’s religious understanding is vulnerable and easy to crack.

Multiple research based on religion (Islam) and suicide claims that, Muslim countries have less percentage of suicidal deaths compared to others. But the fact that all Muslim countries don’t abide by Muslim laws are something to think about. Country like New-Zealand is not Muslim majority country yet it’s legislation matches a lot with Muslim Sharia law, making it one of the most peaceful countries in the world.

Countries which follow communism like North Korea, Japan has high rate of suicidal deaths. They don’t believe in any deities or God. Work is everything. Human are not robot. Human brain is very susceptible to passion and emotion. When there’s religion, individuals find a motivation for doing something good thinking of it as a savings account of reward in after-life. But communism teaches people to only work and succeed. Working non-stop with dedication gets them on the top of the world and suddenly while being on top, a question invades their minds. “What’s the point?” They lose the motivation in life and want to end their lives.

It is a belief that suicide is condemned by religion. Photo by Jossifrescod caption

Religious factors affect an individual and that’s not only by Islam, it also happens same for other religions. The list of suicide rate of countries along with the level of its’ religiosity is given below.

The infographic is collected from Gallup

Taking care of mental health is an unavoidable task to stop suicide among teens. After taking care of religious views, teens should be monitored regularly to checked up on their mental health. Imbalance of anxiety and thoughts can lead them to take any irrational or pre-meditated decision. The Corona Pandemic in the whole wide world has created depression of 7 teens among 10 teens. Being stuck at home, isolated and less socialized makes some teens feel very lonely and depressed. Watching millions of people dying because of a virus affects them mentally. So, parents should be more careful in taking care of them now, emotionally. 

The young generation should realize that the world is worth living for. Parents should spend more quality time with the kids so that their minds can get shaped from the early age. Positive attitude and acceptance of failure is an important thing to learn for everybody. How to handle bad situation, toxic surroundings and hardships in life- it should all be taught by a parent or a guardian. A kid’s basic moral and ethics get strengthened from the family. 

Friends can affect a child in many ways. Parents should keep track of the friends a child hangs out with.  Even in the current situation of pandemic, children should not just sit all day with smart gadgets. They should have some physical exercise. Physical exercise balances the metabolism and keeps the body and mind fresh. Some statistical facts related to teen suicide are;

a)  Suicide rates among teen girls was the highest in 2015 from previous 40 years.

b)The suicide rate for teen girls in 2017 was 14 suicides per 100,000.

c) Teen girls are more likely to have suicidal thoughts than teenage boys.

d) The primary suicide methods for teen girls are suffocation, poison and drug overdoses. Girls aged from 16 to 18, the poisoning rate has been double in the past five years.

 Suicidal thoughts or suicidal ideation is alarming too and should not be taken lightly. Parents, friends, family, teachers, neighbors – whoever traces any symptom of suicidal thoughts should be addressed and be taken necessary steps immediately because Prevention is Better Than Cure.

Background, reasons and prevention of Suicide from د/ ايناس كلية التمريض

Not to be biased on one or two religions but to focus on all of it and utilizing the power of religion is a wise way to block the path of suicide for young people. They should be nurtured with love, care and knowledge of morals so that they will not be able to take any decision and think of ending their lives. They will learn to fight with negative and destructive emotions by themselves. Suicide is an activity which is not even a little bit worthier like life. Life might not be the bed of roses, it is a bittersweet truth that serves the the true purpose of being born. Life is a blessing, an opportunity to finding our true self and leave a mark on this world with something good and happy. Your thought of life contradicts this theory? Read this, The Power Of Positive Thinking: How Thoughts Can Change Your Life.

References:

Brett, July 3, 2008, In More Religious Countries, Lower Suicide Rates, Gallup, Retrieved from,

https://news.gallup.com/poll/108625/more-religious-countries-lower-suicide-rates.aspx

Newport Academy, Teen Suicide Prevention: What Everyone Should Know, Retrieved from,

https://www.newportacademy.com/resources/mental-health/teen-suicide-prevention-facts/

Do You Think Religiosity Can Decrease the Rate of Suicide?

Yes

No

Maybe

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