Religion and suicide: A reanalysis

Abstract

Since Durkheim, religion has been viewed as a source of social integration which decreases the likelihood of suicide. In particular, Catholics have been viewed as less suicidal than Protestants. However, recent changes in the attitudes and beliefs of Catholics in America indicate that the differences between Catholics and Protestants have diminished considerably and from this we would anticipate a decrease in the salience of religious affiliation in explaining variations in suicide rates. The present study investigates the relationship between suicide and Catholicism using data from all the fifty United States in 1970. Whereas a negative zero order correlation was found between Catholicism and suicide incidence, a multiple regression analysis indicates that this difference disappears once we control for the differential incidence of divorce. The results suggest that Catholicism does not significantly affect suicide independent of its negative association with divorce. The Catholic Church's impact on divorce must be taken into account when analyzing the effects of religion on suicide rates. Sociological investigations of the problem of suicide have followed different leads such as social integration, anomie, and industrialization (Durkheim, 1966; Henry and Short, 1954; Porterfield, 1952; Stack, 1978, 1979). A prevailing perspective on suicide has been Durkheim's (1966) social integration paradigm which he viewed as the common denominator to thirty or more specific empirical propositions involving variables such as including the family, religious, and political institutions. Much of Durkheim's well-known analysis centered on the institutions of the family and religion. With respect to the latter institution, Catholics were viewed as less suicidal than Protestants. While much of the data for Durkheim's period and the early to mid-twentieth century support this contention, recent trends in the attitudes and beliefs of Catholics and Protestants show signs of convergence and the associated differential in suicide rates may also be diminishing. The present paper explores the relationship between indicators of Catholicism and the rate of suicide with recent data for the 50 states.