Resource Tag: CATHOLIC CHURCH

The canon law of 1917 forbade a Christian burial to those who ended their lives by their own hands. However, a new funeral rite was adopted following the Second Vatican Council as part of a liturgical reform. The minister may ask for a merciful divine judgment & forgiveness of the sins of the deceased, as […]

A theological discussion of suicide & the right to die. The author admonishes society to “..love deeply & in time”, suggesting most suicides are a “cry for help” rather than a real intention to die. (p.106) 8 ref. (NBB)

“The sinfulness of suicide arises from the fact that man is directly interfering with God’s plan & providence for him & rejecting the duties that he has to perform in the world for the fulfilling of God’s providence.” Rev. Kenneth M. Kunert, S.J., sets forth the position of the Catholic church on suicide in this […]

Canadian data shows support for an effect of migration on suicide. Findings are consistent with the culture shock hypothesis that because migration involves severing ties with the community of origin & adjusting to a new environment, provinces with high rates of migration experience high rates of suicide. A province’s % of the population who have […]

The author analyzes French society, culture, & personality, with a view to identifying those features that could be suicidogenic. Areas of concern include migration, the aged, an overwhelmingly urban place of residence, alcohol abuse, economic differences, state control, the legal system, lack of religosity, & the prevalence of guarded, hostile & rigid personality characteristics. (NBB)

The official church position, viewing suicide as sinful, was defined by St. Augustine & later reinforced by Thomas Aquinas. Their position maintains that life belongs to God & only God can terminate it. It is also a transgression of the Fifth Commandment, “Thou shall not kill”. Father Pangrazzi counsels a non-judgmental, compassionate attitude toward both […]

Research on the relationship of religion & suicide has relied almost exclusively on the concept of religious integration as a causable variable. The present paper proposes an alternative linkage based on the concept of religious commitment. A theory is developed that argues that a high level of commitment to a few life-preserving religious beliefs, values, […]

The authors dispute Durkheim’s claim that religious effects on suicide are no more than a reflection of social integration using the SMSA as the unit of analysis & data from a 1971 Census of Religious Bodies plus Jewish synagogue membership & membership in black denominations, they foud a stromg religious effect on suicide independent of […]

There has never been an adequate empirical test of Durkheim’s proposition that Catholics have lower suicide rates than Protestants. Thus the empirical foundation for one important application of Durkheim’s assertion that egoism & suicide vary proportionately remains uncertain. Results of a cross-national, longitudinal data study of twelve nations largely refute this proposition. Application of his […]

Editorial

Data on church membership, suicide, & homicide from larger American cities for the early years of the twentieth century are used to test Durkheim’s theories of religion & social integration. Contrary to his prediction (& to nineteenth-century European data) no Protestant-Catholic differences were discovered on either suicide or homicide. The data reveal a very potent […]

This study offers no support for the thesis that suicide rates are inversely related to the proportion of catholics in society. Durkheim’s theory of religion & suicide is no longer tenable because of a convergence between catholicism & protestantism levels of participation. Durkheim’s theory of marital intergration & suicide exept for societies with a very […]

Study to determine if religious affiliation would influence the number of suicides by analysing 1,300 suicide deaths as reported in the Los Angeles County for the years 1974-78. (KB)

Determined that individual states in the US with higher suicide rates tend to have lower percentages of Catholic population. This finding is consistent with E. Durkheim’s classical work showing a lower suicide rate in predominantly Catholic (as opposed to Protestant) countries of Europe.

This article, by citing several examples, describes some legal attitudes toward euthanasia in various countries & presents in detail the Jewish attitude. The classification of euthanasia speaks of eugenic, active medical & passive medical euthanasia, also of the new term-antidysthanasia. The pros & cons, & the Catholic & Protestant approaches to the problem could not […]

A comparison of attempted suicide among Protestant and Catholic subjects revealed only eight significant differences out of fifty-five possible differences. Thus, on the whole, the groups proved to be quite similar. The major differences were that among Protestant subjects, suicide attempters were more often female & black, were in poorer physical health, & were less […]

In this study 97 out of 148 Protestant females completed suicide compared to 37 women and 18 men who were Catholic. The rate for suicides in the general population was the same as the Catholics studied.(DD)

Includes a comment by R A Carson