Suicide Stigma in Christian Faith Communities: A Qualitative Study
Abstract
:1. Introduction
Morality is a complex and culturally variable construction. Different societies build different moralities, and they do so in part by resting their moral virtues, claims, and institutions to varying degrees on each [of five] moral foundation[s]. Furthermore, subcultures within the same society may also elaborate and emphasize different foundations to different degrees (p. 185).
2. Materials and Methods
Participants
3. Results
3.1. Definition
3.1.1. Internal
3.1.2. Interpersonal
Our absolute fear that if [suicide] can happen to your family then it could happen to my family. Therefore, I will do everything possible to figure out how you are different from me. … We’ve got to figure out what you did wrong because then we can protect ourselves from this calamity happening. … If I can push you away, if I can say this happened to you and your family, …, then I can say, ‘Whew, that ain’t going to happen to me’.
“Disgust shrinks our moral circles. We tend to feel disgusted for all sorts of irrational reasons, particularly at out-group members who are unlike us, people who are stigmatized or marginalized in different ways. By feeling disgust, we seem to dehumanize people and not afford them the kind of moral concern that they deserve. There is less moral responsibility that we feel toward protecting their rights. … we’re going to distance ourselves not only from people who attempt or commit suicide but we’re going to distance ourselves from the concept, from talking about suicide, by having this purity framework.”
3.1.3. Theological
3.1.4. Differences
“It depends on the group and what is considered to be a stigma for them. You boil it down to rejection. The person is rejected. It’s a non-connection. … therefore you’re isolated, on your own, you’re rejected, so I will deal with this myself.”
3.2. Barriers
3.2.1. Silence
3.2.2. Ignorance
C1 said, “[Suicide] stigma is fear plus ignorance.” Types of ignorance mentioned by participants included that suicide can only be addressed by professionals (P3, P4), that suicidal desperation doesn’t exist in faith communities (P3) or that “you can plant the seed of the idea of suicide” by talking about it (P4).“It’s ignorance. People are ignorant about death, about their own impending death, about how to be mature enough to reach out to people who need help, whether it is suicide or a family who has experienced suicide or [death] in general.”
3.2.3. Expectation of not Struggling with Suicidal Behaviors and “Having It all Together” (P5)
P6 added,“Suicide shows a chink in the faith armour. People touched by suicide, there is a something wrong with them, their faith practice, the strength of their faith … People touched by suicide are not part of the elect. They are sinners who are irredeemable.”
P7 added, “Health issues or mental health issues were a sign of God’s judgment, that we didn’t pray enough, that we’re sinful”.“Regular church attenders [may believe] they have God on their side … so I don’t have that problem of depression or anxiety. That’s not my problem. That’s somebody else’s. … These same families, that are harder than a rock when it comes to how they feel their faith is and their relationship with God is, but then all of a sudden they are stunned to find a grandchild or son or daughter is struggling with a mental illness and maybe attempted to take their own life.”
3.2.4. Expectation about the “Preaching Moment” (P2)
“Clergy are worried they are going to use the wrong language. They worry if they touch [on suicide], it will get bigger. It will get worse. It will create contagion. They are concerned about putting the idea in their head.”
3.2.5. Being Busy
3.3.6. An Artificial Division between Mental Health/Suicide and Faith
Another participant bemoaned that pastors don’t see mental health as their business: “One pastor said, ‘It’s not [pastors’] business to get into your business’” (P6).“In the US we have to separate out faith when it’s a public conversation. Most suicide awareness organizations do not address what scripture says about suicide. This creates a gap of conversation about scripture, sin and where is God … a lack of information means people fill in that blank with old and often negative beliefs, such as suicide is a sin. … Faith communities are not included in suicide awareness activities in communities. We think we have to separate out faith when it’s a public conversation.”
3.2.7. The Lack of Training for Faith Leaders
3.3. Stigma and Suicide Risk
3.3.1. Stigma Decreases Suicide Risk
3.3.2. Stigma Increases Suicide Risk
P8 emphasized that ministry should reach everyone in the church, including people touched by suicide.“That taboo is no longer helpful in any church. … because you are struggling, you are unworthy and you do not belong to any community, your faith community, your family, your friends, and as a result you are a burden on us and everybody around us. Your existence is a burden.”
3.4. How to Address Suicide Stigma in Faith Communities
3.4.1. Talk about Suicide
M1 explained further “Anything that causes suffering to a conscious being would be considered harmful.” He conjectured, “Maybe it’s really critical that as soon as the discourse moves away from purity, that it starts to focus on issues of harm.” He suggested “moving the idea away from the person and the act toward the community and the consequences to the community; that is a more productive form of discourse”.“Stigma is more likely to be associated with beliefs about purity [that suicide makes a person morally impure], and because purity does tend to be more indelible and harder to get rid of … to the extent that stigma is related to ideas about purity and feelings of disgust, we’re going to distance ourselves not only from people who attempt or commit suicide but we’re going to distance ourselves from the concept, from talking about suicide, by having this purity framework.”
3.4.2. Address the Skill Deficits
“There doesn’t seem to be a commitment to life-long learning; there doesn’t seem to be an understanding that you have to keep yourself current, and you have an obligation to your congregation, to your faith community, to stay current. … we need faith leaders to minister to the needs of suffering people. … you don’t have to be an expert. Clergy think they have to be an expert. But they don’t, because ministry is all done collaboratively. … [Clergy] are not meeting the needs of their customers. … if they don’t get with the times, and educate themselves and stay committed to educating themselves, they are going to stigmatize themselves out of existence.”
3.4.3. Practice Vulnerability
“Helping to find ways to name that there’s brokenness in the world that becomes brokenness in our lives, and the more we can talk about that, the church and God is not a place to bring our shiny, pretty selves but it’s there because of our broken selves.”
“You have to be real polished and have it all together. How much different the world would be if we didn’t live like that. If we in the church didn’t live like that, it would be a real witness to those who are out in the world.”
3.4.4. Address the Theology of Suicide
“We need a theology of hope that is more than eschatological … hope in the here and now, for a life worth living, … and how to have a life worth living, and how do we support people in finding that life worth living, having that abundant life.”
3.4.5. Appreciate that Faith Communities Have a Unique Contribution
“Churches can assume leadership. … They can take this topic [of suicide] and embrace it. … If we’re going to walk away from that, as a Kingdom of God, what are we doing? That’s our job. … Where there is trouble, we need to run to it.”
3.4.6. Get Leadership on Board
3.4.7. Address Cultural/Systemic Issues
P7 added, “We have to raise the questions of [systemic issues in a community] … mental health funding has always been the poor step child than physical health funding.”“We have a lot of work to form communities that nurture individuals within them that find that life is really worth living, and when they get to a point of wondering whether it is, know how to have an intersection with that, at that point that is redemptive.”
4. Discussion
4.1. Types of Stigma: Internal, Interpersonal and Theological
4.2. Stigma and Suicide Risk
4.3. Barriers to Addressing Suicide Stigma
4.4. How to Address Suicide Stigma
“The counseling courses I took for my MDiv were entirely, without doubt, lacking any substance, actual training, or real merit. We were told to refer. That’s all. And while I agree that I am not trained to serve as someone’s therapist or psychiatrist, I am, all too often, the first person they come to when fighting depression or suicide.”
5. Limitations and Future Directions
6. Conclusions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Conflicts of Interest
Appendix A
- How do you define stigma?
- What stigmas about suicide (e.g., suicidal thinking, suicide attempts, suicide death, copycat suicide) exist in faith communities?
- Do some stigmas like believing that those who die by suicide go to hell reduce risk of suicide?
- Do some stigmas increase risk of suicide?
- How has stigma about suicide been addressed in a faith community?
- How do faith communities address the barrier of addressing suicide stigma?
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Demographic Characteristics | Study Participants |
---|---|
Gender | 7 males |
3 females | |
Age | 1 70s |
4 60s | |
3 50s | |
1 40s | |
1 30s | |
Denomination | 3 Baptist (American Baptist, Baptist, and Full Gospel Baptist) |
2 United Church of Christ | |
1 Evangelical Lutheran Church of America | |
1 United Methodist Church | |
1 Reformed Church of America | |
1 Roman Catholic | |
1 unaffiliated | |
Role | 4 congregants |
5 faith leaders | |
1 moral psychologist | |
Race | 1 black |
9 white | |
U.S. Census Bureau Region | 1 Northeast |
4 South | |
3 Midwest | |
1 West | |
Experience with suicide | 5 survivors of family member suicide |
1 survivor of suicide in community | |
1 survivor of suicide in a professional role | |
1 participant with lived experience of suicide | |
2 unknown |
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Mason, K. Suicide Stigma in Christian Faith Communities: A Qualitative Study. Religions 2021, 12, 540. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel12070540
Mason K. Suicide Stigma in Christian Faith Communities: A Qualitative Study. Religions. 2021; 12(7):540. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel12070540
Chicago/Turabian StyleMason, Karen. 2021. "Suicide Stigma in Christian Faith Communities: A Qualitative Study" Religions 12, no. 7: 540. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel12070540