More than a century ago, our few fathers of modern sociology discussed about Protestants being more industrial and individualistic, when they discuss about the spirit of capitalism, religious foundations of worldly asceticism (without strict dogma), and Weber wrote a book on "Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism". Durkheim used Catholics to compare with Protestants in his classic book of Suicide. Now, everybody uses Durkheim's suicide theories to apply to most anything to do with suicide.
Next year, in 2017, I think we are reaching the 120th years after Durkheim's classic "The Suicide". I was just wondering whether we still have that differences investigated by Durkheim in this 21st century world, lifestyle and practice, between Catholics and Protestants?
Thank you.
Catholics are still less likely than Protestants to commit or accept suicide. Sample: Switzerland 21 years data (1981-2001)on suicides per capita and suicides per death.
Torgler, B. & Schaltegger, C.A. (2014). Suicide and Religion: New Evidence on the Difference Between Protestantism and Catholicism, Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 53:2
I think you could have some answers in the following references :
Borlandi Massimo, Cherkaoui Mohamed (dir.), 2000, Le suicide, un siècle après Durkheim. Paris : Presses Universitaires de France. [the Suicide. One century after Durkheim).
Coll., 1994, Emile Durkheim. Le suicide one hundred years later, Philadelphia,
: Charles Press.
Both are original collective productions on suicide by Durkheim and many articles discuss the actuality and the relevance of Durkheim original categories (and among them religion).
You could also - and of course (you must know them already) have a look on the following articles :
Miles E. Simpson & George H. Conklin, Socioeconomic Development, Suicide and Religion: A Test of Durkheim's Theory of Religion and Suicide, in, Social Forces, Vol. 67, issue 4, pp. 945-964.
Pescosolida, B. & Giorgianna, S. 1989, Durkheim, Suicide and religion. Towards a network theory of suicide. in, American Sociological Review, Vol. 54, issue, 1, pp. 34-48.
Hope it can help you,
Christophe Gibout
Psychological Perspectives on Religion and Religiosity (p. 115) looks at the 10 nations with highest suicide rates in 2011, most in Europe, but including Kazakhstan, and suggests that the end of communism created a "suicide epidemic" which went beyond religious traditions.
HI Benjamin, I have your book. I have started collecting all books on religiosity and suicide lately. However, I haven't got the opportunity to go through it. You are referring to those former communist countries in Eastern Europe? Their religiosity is low under communist rule, and after communism rule ends, there may be an influx of people who practise religions more openly. We have great difficulty in estimating the percentage of people with religion in China - think the last official Communist country left?
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