‘As for suicide, however, regular church-attending Americans clearly have lower rates
than non-attenders (Comstock and Partridge 1972; Stack and Wasserman 1992; Martin
1984), although this correlation has actually not been found in other nations (Stack
1991). Of the current top-ten nations with the highest rates of suicide, most are relatively
secular (World Health Organization, 2003). But it is worth noting that eight of these
top-ten are post-Soviet countries, suggesting that decades of totalitarianism, depressed
economies, and a lack of basic human freedoms may be…—- [COLOR=”#800000″] Gee, what a nice rationalization—-I.e., I do not give a damn what facts say.
[/COLOR]

…While acknowledging the many disagreements and discrepancies above, the fact still
remains that a preponderance of studies do indicate that secular people don’t seem to fare
as well as their religious peers when it comes to selected aspects of psychological well being
(Hackney and Sanders 2003; Pargament 2002; Schnittker 2001; Hood et al. 1996;
Idler and Stanislav 1992; Petersen and Roy 1985). For instance, Ellison (1991), Jones
(1993), and Pollner (1989) found that religious beliefs correlate with a sense of lifesatisfaction
and well-being, and Myers (1992) found that religious faith is correlated with
hope and optimism. McIntosh et al. (1993) report that religious people have a better time
adjusting to and coping with sad or difficult life events than secular people; Mattlin et al.
(1990) and Palmer and Noble (1986) report that religion is beneficial for people dealing
with chronic illness or the death of a loved one. Based on a systematic examination
of over 100 studies – and drawing heavily from the work of Koenig et al. (2001) –
McCullough and Smith (2003, 191–192) conclude that ‘‘people who are religious devout,
but not extremists, tend to report greater subjective well-being and life satisfaction…more
ability to cope with stress and crises…and fewer symptoms of depression’’ than secular
people. However, it should be pointed out that some have vigorously refuted such
sweeping conclusions, arguing that the link between religiosity and positive health
outcomes is grossly exaggerated (Sloan and Bagiella 2002). Finally, there is certainly the
possibility that because being non-religious in the United States makes one a member of —- Sounds like “I cannot refute this so out of desperation I will add this.”
a widely un-liked, distrusted, and stigmatize minority, this could take a psychological toll
on the mental health and sense of well-being of atheists and secular people, who may suffer
from a sense of isolation, alienation, or rejection from family, colleagues, or peers
(Downey 2004).
As for suicide, however, regular church-attending Americans clearly have lower rates
than non-attenders (Comstock and Partridge 1972; Stack and Wasserman 1992; Martin
1984), although this correlation has actually not been found in other nations (Stack
1991). Of the current top-ten nations with the highest rates of suicide, most are relatively
secular (World Health Organization, 2003). But it is worth noting that eight of these
top-ten are post-Soviet countries, suggesting that decades of totalitarianism, depressed
economies, and a lack of basic human freedoms may be….’-—Ah, once again, well the facts say this BUT, a little rationalization can take those ignore those facts and present the truth as what ever I/we want it to be.