Religion and the Stigma of Suicide: A Quantitative Analysis Using Nationwide Survey Data from Hungary

Abstract

Objective: To examine the effect of religion on negative attitudes and beliefs about suicide. Methods: We use data from a large nationwide survey conducted in Hungary covering more than 3000 individuals. Suicide-related stigmas are captured with three Likert-type measures that we combine into an overall indicator. Religion is measured by denomination (Catholic vs. Protestant) and church attendance (at least weekly vs. never or less than weekly). We employ logistic regression and the SPSS statistical software. Results: People attending religious services frequently have greater odds of stigmatizing self-killing than those reporting no or infrequent attendance. Compared to Protestants, Catholics are significantly less condemning of suicide. The two measures of religion also work in tandem, with denomination modifying the impact of church attendance. In particular, while church attendance strongly increases the odds of negative attitudes among Catholics, it has practically no effect among Protestants. Discussion and Conclusions: The results presented are in keeping with our expectations and suggest that a social climate that stigmatizes suicide without providing for people a strong community network that pressures individuals toward conforming to fundamental moral principles can be especially harmful for mental health.

Suicide literacy mediates the path from religiosity to suicide stigma among Muslim community adults: Cross-sectional data from four Arab countries

“…Starting with the direct effects, our findings revealed that higher religiosity is associated with greater stigma toward suicide. Similar findings were reported in several studies conducted in Christian faith communities from Western countries (Moksony & Hegedűs, 2019, 2021). Past studies from the Arab region have also reported on religion and culture as playing major roles in shaping societal views and attitudes toward suicide (Amiri et al, 2013; El Halabi et al, 2020; Zolezzi et al, 2018).…”

“…High public stigma and low social acceptance have also been shown to lead to increased suicide rates (Schomerus et al, 2015). In this same regard, it has been demonstrated that suicide-related stigmatizing attitudes are more common in regions with high rates of suicide behavior (Moksony & Hegedűs, 2021).…”

“…In this study, we focus on the link between religiosity (an individual’s cognitive construct) and stigmatizing views of suicide in Arab Muslim individuals from the general public. While it has been extensively documented that religiosity serves as a buffer against suicidality across religions (with some transcultural variations) (Fekih-Romdhane et al, 2020; Gearing & Alonzo, 2018; Lawrence et al, 2016; Wu et al, 2015), it also contributes to societal stigma and discrimination of suicide and people affected by suicide (Moksony & Hegedűs, 2019, 2021). Despite evidence reporting that suicide mortality outcomes differ across religious factors (affiliation, belief, behavior, and commitment) (Moksony & Hegedűs, 2019), the contribution of religiosity to suicide stigma is still under-studied and poorly understood (Moksony & Hegedűs, 2021), particularly in the Arab Muslim world.…”

“…One of the potential factor that contributes to the stigmatization of suicide is religiosity. Religious views typically impact both suicide (Gearing & Alonzo, 2018), and stigma (Larkin, 2020) conceptualizations; and have been shown to play a crucial role in shaping attitudes about suicide (Moksony & Hegedűs, 2019, 2021). Being religiously affiliated, and particularly to Islam, was consistently related to a decreased acceptability of suicide (Stack & Kposowa, 2008, 2011).…”

Prevalence, psychosocial correlates of youths’ suicidal behaviors and perspectives on the phenomena at Zagazig University: a mixed-methods study

“…In a similar vein, a study done by Zou et al [38] revealed that participating youths viewed their peers' suicidal behaviors, especially female suicidality, as a way to get attention or manipulate others and they stained their peers as weak persons and irresponsible. In addition, Moksony and Hegedus [39] reported that people tend to stigmatize suicidal persons as losing their faith, infidels, or atheists.…”