Spiritual and Religious Issues in the Aftermath of Suicide
Journal Title: Religions - Year 2018, Vol 9, Issue 5
Abstract
Spirituality and religion have only been marginally investigated in the experiences of the bereaved by suicide (or survivors of suicide). Aim: This article directly addresses two questions: In what way was spirituality or religion an issue for survivors of suicide? How were they helpful (or not) during their reconstruction process? Method: Research involved qualitative studies, carried out in Switzerland with 50 survivors of suicide using in depth-interviews. Data were analyzed according to grounded theory principles. Results: Suicide triggered questioning mainly about the afterlife of the deceased and of how transcendency relates to agency and responsibility in the suicidal act. Spiritual or religious issues play an important role in the process of reconstruction for survivors, notably in meaning-making and responsibility-clarifying processes, in forging a continuing bond with the deceased and in honoring their life and memory. Nevertheless, this role is complex and can either support or make the recovery difficult (or both). Conclusion: Mental health and social care professionals may support survivors’ resilience and their reconstruction process by valuing the constructive aspects of their spiritual and religious experiences and by taking into account the spiritual and religious struggles they face to offer effective support to survivors of suicide during recovery.
Authors and Affiliations
Dolores Angela Castelli Dransart
Keywords
Related Articles
- EP ID EP26015
- DOI https://doi.org/10.3390/rel9050153
- Views 347
- Downloads 12
Associations among Spirituality, Health-Related Quality of Life, and Depression in Pre-Dialysis Chronic Kidney Disease Patients: An Exploratory Analysis in Thai Buddhist Patients
There are numerous studies of quality of life (QOL) in chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients; however, there are a few studies of spirituality and its association with QOL. Previous studies were done focusing on Wester...
Authority, Religion, and Women Writers in the Italian Counter-Reformation: Teaching Diodata Malvasia’s Histories
Recent decades have seen the rediscovery of a significant number of texts authored by Italian women between 1560 and 1630. And yet the commonplace that the Counter-Reformation silenced women writers has persisted. One...
Time Out of Joint and Future-Oriented Memory: Engaging Dietrich Bonhoeffer in the Search for a Way to Deal Responsibly with the Ghosts of the Past
This article explores in conversation with some of the writings of Dietrich Bonhoeffer the question of how the experience of the dislocation of time and the visitation of “the ghosts of the past” (also in contexts mark...
Christian Churches and the Boko Haram Insurgency in Cameroon: Dilemmas and Responses
The spillover of the terrorist activities of Boko Haram, a Nigerian jihadi group, into Cameroon’s north has resulted in security challenges and humanitarian activity opportunities for Christian churches. The insurgents...
Faith and Form on Screen
To understand any aspect of being-in-the-world in general or cinematic experience in particular, both reductionist and holistic approaches are needed. Psychological accounts can give us only functional explanations of...