Suicide and the Sociological Theories - Essay Example

Download file to see previous pages... This essay stresses that there is a significance differences in the rate of suicide among different religions. Comparing the two largest religions (Catholics and Protestantism), it is observed that religion has a hand the differences in the suicide rates. A study accorded by Professor Becker and Ludger Woessmann demonstrated that there is a strong link in the rate of suicide between different religions, in particular the Catholics and Protestants. According to the research findings, it was revealed that Catholics are least likely to commit suicide as compared to the Protestants. The two professors further attempted to explain these differences using the self-selection theory in which religion philosophy is founded on. As explains Professor Becker the fact that Protestants are more prone to committing suicide than does the Catholics, “but, whether that is because they act from a religious perspective is a different story. People might say that they become Protestants, not to commit suicide, of course, but they might elect to become Protestants for all kinds of reasons that happen to correlate with suicide behavior.
This paper declares that the research was aimed at establishing whether this high of suicide among Protestants was coincidental or causal. In their findings, they realized that such higher cases of suicide were causal. According to their finding, it was revealed that Protestants are three times likely to commit suicide than the Catholics. They draw a conclusion that Catholicism as opposed to Protestantism had the potential of reducing the rate of suicide among her faithful. ...Download file to see next pagesRead More