(June 9, 2012 at 5:37 pm)libalchris Wrote: I actually think religion itself can be to blame for higher suicide rates in atheists. Religion promises people so much: love from the creator of the universe, eternal life, eternal happiness, no more suffering, being able to see loved ones again, and so much more. It promises people so much, and then when they learn none of it's true, it's all ripped from their hand. How do you expect people to react to that? I bet you that atheists who were never religious don't have higher suicide rates.
Hm! That's an interesting idea. I remember I used to believe in all sorts of things that didn't make sense. At the time I called myself an "agnostic" (I was actually an agnostic atheist). Nonetheless I believed in things like objective beauty (whatever that means), eternal love, some sort of afterlife, probably fate and some karma-esque stuff too. I was never theistic though. Eventually when these ideas fell apart due to my own introspection it was devastating. So I can imagine that people who never had these ideas to begin with don't feel that; to them it's always been the case. They never experience the bitter internal fight to maintain the status quo. The truth certainly can be delivered in a cruel manner.
