Citation

Mugisha J, Hjelmeland H, Kinyanda E, Knizek BL. Death Stud. 2013; 37(4): 343-361.

Affiliation

Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Department of Psychology , Trondheim , Norway.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2013, Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1080/07481187.2011.641136

PMID

24520891

Abstract

Relatively little research has been conducted on religion and suicide in Africa, yet religion has a lot of influence on people's way of life in Africa. To study religious views on suicide among the Baganda, Uganda, we used grounded theory and discourse analysis on a total of 28 focus groups and 30 key informant interviews. Suicide is largely seen as a breach of God's doctrine life is sacred, God's commandment thou shall not kill, and God's rule of agape. The study also focuses on the consequences of breaching God's divine providence: punishment from God and the Church. Religion still has a lot of influence on people's views on suicide in Uganda despite the challenges highlighted in the study. A recommendation from these results is that suicide prevention should cater to divergent views on religion and suicide. More qualitative research should be conducted in this area to facilitate theoretical comparison with this study.

Language: en