A Global Perspective on Religious Participation and Suicide

Although sociological research in the Durkheimian tradition has generally accepted that religious involvement protects against suicide, few studies have examined this theoretical proposition outside Western industrialized settings. Using multilevel models to analyze data from the World Health Organization Mortality Database and the World Values Survey (1981-2007) across 42 countries in seven geographical-cultural regions, this study explores whether religious participation is more protective against suicide in some regions than others and, if so, why. Results indicate that while religious participation is protective in Latin America, eastern Europe, northern Europe, and English-speaking countries, it may aggravate the risk of suicide in East Asia, western Europe, and southern Europe. This regional variation is the result of differences in both the degree of integration/regulation of religious communities and suicide underreporting. Overall, the findings support the network perspective of Durkheim's classical theory and suggest that researchers should be more cautious about suicide underreporting in less industrialized settings.