Citation

Torgler B, Schaltegger C. J. Sci. Study Relig. 2014; 53(2): 316-340.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2014, Society for the Scientific Study of Religion, Publisher John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/jssr.12117

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Suicide has remained a persistent social phenomenon and now accounts for more deaths than motor vehicle accidents. There has been much debate, however, over which religious constructs might best explain the variation in suicide rates. Our empirical analysis reveals that even though theological and social differences between Catholicism and Protestantism have decreased, Catholics are still less likely than Protestants to commit or accept suicide. This difference holds even after we control for such confounding factors as social and religious networks. In addition, although religious networks do mitigate suicides among Protestants, the influence of church attendance is more dominant among Catholics. Our analysis also indicates that alternative concepts such as religious commitment and religiosity strongly reduce suicide acceptance. © 2014 The Society for the Scientific Study of Religion.

Language: en

Keywords

suicide; religion; Catholicism; Protestantism