Why do Atheists have a significantly higher rate of Suicide?

[Shermana]

http://www.adherents.com/misc/religion_suicide.html

http://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/article ... urnalID=13

According to the American Journal of Psychiatry, those who are religiously affiliated have a "significantly lower" rate of taking their own life.

Why do Atheists and those not religiously affiliated thus have a significantly higher rate? Is Society so overwhelmingly oppressive and religious that it causes the non-believers to want the fast way out? Do Atheists in general have a weaker will to live? Are religious people bullying them so they can't take it anymore? If so, why do countries like South Korea which are nearly 50% Atheist have one of the worst suicide rates? Is it just "part of their culture"?

Unaffiliated subjects were younger, less often married, less often had children, and had less contact with family members.

Now I know from personal experience at least, that Atheists having less contact with family members is not always (or usually) the result of being "shunned" by the religious members, but the result of the Atheist not wanting to be around the religious members. As for being "younger", it's the older folks have by far the highest suicide rate, so there's an anomaly in this variable. Does marriage prevent suicide? (You'd think from the anti-marriage rhetoric it's the opposite). If so, is there a corrolation with the tendency for Atheists to not get married?

[Moses Yoder]

It is possible to skew statistics anyway you want. Just a thought here, and I haven't read the whole discussion. Have you looked at the suicide rate for people with bipolar disorder? From what I have seen at bipolarsupport.org, most of them are kind of angry at God for what He did to them, and the majority would probably consider themselves atheists. Not a scientific assessment, just my own personal experience. So here you have a mental disorder which tends to make people atheists and then kill themselves. Imagine that. I have to wonder about all sorts of people with incurable disorders and diseases; it would tend to make them hate God and want to take their own life.

[Flail]

A statistically small percentage of any society is 'mentally ill'; the mentally ill have trouble coping and commit suicide; drugs and religion are available to help them cope; non-believers don't have the religious option so perhaps we need to make sure that the atheist mentally ill take their drugs.

I'm not sure if you're being sarcastic or actually believe this. Not every atheist commits suicide is mentally ill. However, I do agree that the lack of religion and, more specifically, perceiving suicide as a sin, would account for why the non-religious are more likely to commit suicide than the religious. Religious people believe their lives have purpose, even though they're doing essentially the same things day in, day out as atheists. I suppose this belief in purpose is what keeps religious people fighting through the bad times.

Studies show that 87-98% of people who commit suicide have a diagnosed mental illness. One in six people are diagnosed with some form of depression. Christianity offers hope and solace to the indoctrinated and so perhaps the mentally ill and those suffering from depression are drawn to the superstitions offered by the faith, opting for delusion over suicide.

[jmvizanko]

That's a nice use of the quote function there, JMvizanko....now do you have anything to say about it?

Typed that on my phone..... I guess something went wrong.

I was just going to mostly agree, that atheists are less likely to see suicide as an infinitely unnaceptable option, given that they don't think a god is going to send them to hell for doing it. Not surprising then that they have a higher suicide rate.

But even though I'm an atheist, I'll conjecture that perhaps atheists are, at least on the average, less happy. I couldn't be more content with my life, but that's not everybody. Of course, just because something makes you happier doesn't make it true. But I'm not even sure this possibilty is the issue, and maybe its just that depressed atheists see it more as an option:

http://www.pitzer.edu/academics/faculty ... theism.pdf

http://www.secularhumanism.org/library/ ... _20_4.html

http://blog.beliefnet.com/news/2009/08/ ... le-too.php

And I think a lot of atheists that come from a religion go through depression when they leave their religion. I used to be pretty depressed for the 2 years after I left Christianity (but there were other reasons, like failure at school), but now that I'm confident about my beliefs, my morality, and my choices, I'm completely normally happy. Not everybody can solve that existential crisis though.

[Clownboat]

http://www.adherents.com/misc/religion_suicide.html

http://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/article ... urnalID=13

According to the American Journal of Psychiatry, those who are religiously affiliated have a "significantly lower" rate of taking their own life.

Why do Atheists and those not religiously affiliated thus have a significantly higher rate? Is Society so overwhelmingly oppressive and religious that it causes the non-believers to want the fast way out? Do Atheists in general have a weaker will to live? Are religious people bullying them so they can't take it anymore? If so, why do countries like South Korea which are nearly 50% Atheist have one of the worst suicide rates? Is it just "part of their culture"?

Unaffiliated subjects were younger, less often married, less often had children, and had less contact with family members.

Now I know from personal experience at least, that Atheists having less contact with family members is not always (or usually) the result of being "shunned" by the religious members, but the result of the Atheist not wanting to be around the religious members. As for being "younger", it's the older folks have by far the highest suicide rate, so there's an anomaly in this variable. Does marriage prevent suicide? (You'd think from the anti-marriage rhetoric it's the opposite). If so, is there a corrolation with the tendency for Atheists to not get married?

A statistically small percentage of any society is 'mentally ill'; the mentally ill have trouble coping and commit suicide; drugs and religion are available to help them cope; non-believers don't have the religious option so perhaps we need to make sure that the atheist mentally ill take their drugs.

I have heard Christians say that they would like to off themselves (during tough times) if it were not for the whole burning in hell thing.

I have never heard and atheist say this, so I agree, mentally ill atheists need to take their drugs.

[Clownboat]

It is possible to skew statistics anyway you want. Just a thought here, and I haven't read the whole discussion. Have you looked at the suicide rate for people with bipolar disorder? From what I have seen at bipolarsupport.org, most of them are kind of angry at God for what He did to them, and the majority would probably consider themselves atheists. Not a scientific assessment, just my own personal experience. So here you have a mental disorder which tends to make people atheists and then kill themselves. Imagine that. I have to wonder about all sorts of people with incurable disorders and diseases; it would tend to make them hate God and want to take their own life.

I have to wonder why a god would allow a person to be born, knowing that they would suffer from one of these diseases that would cause them to lose their faith.

[ThatGirlAgain]

It is possible to skew statistics anyway you want. Just a thought here, and I haven't read the whole discussion. Have you looked at the suicide rate for people with bipolar disorder? From what I have seen at bipolarsupport.org, most of them are kind of angry at God for what He did to them, and the majority would probably consider themselves atheists. Not a scientific assessment, just my own personal experience. So here you have a mental disorder which tends to make people atheists and then kill themselves. Imagine that. I have to wonder about all sorts of people with incurable disorders and diseases; it would tend to make them hate God and want to take their own life.

Most of them are angry at God and most of them are atheists. Something is not kosher here.

[Flail]

OP wrote:

According to the American Journal of Psychiatry, those who are religiously affiliated have a "significantly lower" rate of taking their own life.

Why do Atheists and those not religiously affiliated thus have a significantly higher rate? Is Society so overwhelmingly oppressive and religious that it causes the non-believers to want the fast way out? Do Atheists in general have a weaker will to live? Are religious people bullying them so they can't take it anymore?

Perhaps Atheists are less happy on the whole than Christians, but is happiness a worthy goal? Being happy and satisfied has never led to much progress in my life; when I'm in trouble, frustrated, thwarted or dissatisfied, I seem to get the most and the best out of myself. Being happy and satisfied and 'saved' might be a worthy goal for some, but for me....give me angst and watch me excel.

[JoeyKnothead]

It is possible to skew statistics anyway you want. Just a thought here, and I haven't read the whole discussion. Have you looked at the suicide rate for people with bipolar disorder? From what I have seen at bipolarsupport.org, most of them are kind of angry at God for what He did to them, and the majority would probably consider themselves atheists. Not a scientific assessment, just my own personal experience. So here you have a mental disorder which tends to make people atheists and then kill themselves. Imagine that. I have to wonder about all sorts of people with incurable disorders and diseases; it would tend to make them hate God and want to take their own life.

Most of them are angry at God and most of them are atheists. Something is not kosher here.

I noticed that as well. One can't possibly be mad at something they don't think exists - except to be mad at how the concept is used, described or some such similar term.

I often rail against "God". Such is only significant in that I understand it to be a concept only and do not actually rail against something I don't think is even there to begin with.

[Flail]

Moses Yoder wrote:

.... most of them are kind of angry at God for what He did to them, and the majority would probably consider themselves atheists. Not a scientific assessment, just my own personal experience.

So you have personal experience with people who are so angry at an entity(God) they don't believe exists that they kill themselves over it? That's weird.

[Moses Yoder]

It is possible to skew statistics anyway you want. Just a thought here, and I haven't read the whole discussion. Have you looked at the suicide rate for people with bipolar disorder? From what I have seen at bipolarsupport.org, most of them are kind of angry at God for what He did to them, and the majority would probably consider themselves atheists. Not a scientific assessment, just my own personal experience. So here you have a mental disorder which tends to make people atheists and then kill themselves. Imagine that. I have to wonder about all sorts of people with incurable disorders and diseases; it would tend to make them hate God and want to take their own life.

I have to wonder why a god would allow a person to be born, knowing that they would suffer from one of these diseases that would cause them to lose their faith.

Well I don't know if the free will debate has come to any decisions, but my own personal belief is that we are dealt whatever cards God determines, and then we choose how we will react to our circumstances. If we choose to allow them to, bad circumstances will draw us closer to God, which is what I believe they are meant to do. On the other hand, we can choose to allow bad circumstances to make us first angry at whatever God we believe in, then totally deny that there is a God.

I think Joni Eareckson Tada is a good example of this. If not familiar, her story is easily accessed at wikipedia.