Protestantism tends to develop individual research into its doctrines, self-reflection, and inward communings with one’s consciousness.
Mysterious and sublime dogma is the object of contemplation, with the intention that such idealism shall bring forth fruit as good actions.
This system, so grand and overpowering is, it appears, liable to derange weak minds, especially when by neglecting a due share of taking one’s own worldly responsibilities, such aspire to be devotees, inspired by the highest ideals, but declining to translate good intentions into good deeds, and the active exercise of charity, and duty to their neighbours.
The extraordinary lateral offshoots of the church, which are seen at intervals, the various forms of Revivalism, and the proceedings of the Salvation Army, are all to a certain extent mischievous; although they are, no doubt, productive of some benefit to those who still remain in gross ignorance and vice. Yet such violent temporary ebullitions of theological activity do certainly unhinge men’s minds, and do foster a higher suicide rate. The more permanent, but less violent, waves of change in religious matters do more good, and at the same time less harm; I refer to the alternating popularity of such forms as Evangelicalism and Ritualism. Almost all sudden changes, especially in faith and violent emotions, are harmful.
In general, as a result of the sum of religious statistics, too numerous and voluminous for quotation here, we may generalise and say that Catholics incline to suicide through madness, following their vices, while Protestants fly to suicide as relief from domestic troubles, monetary anxieties, remorse for wasted opportunities, and regret for the absence of hoped for results; they are also more liable than Catholics to suicide following religious mania.
Extravagances in religion are sometimes a symptom of madness; at others, extravagances in religion lead to madness in enfeebled minds.
Morality.
The morals of a state cannot fail to have a deep and lasting effect on the amount of crime and madness, and hence on the suicide rate. But it is by no means easy to prove by statistics the actual rate of influence; the social customs and modes of life are so very various, and the different laws of each state with regard to moral sins are so different. At the same time it cannot be denied that several important nations, among whom the virtues of social family life are specially studied, have a very high suicide rate, such as the Germans and Danes.
The average of suicide is found generally to run hand in hand with that of the ratio of total crime. Crime has increased for many years in all European countries except Britain and Holland. Suicide has increased in all except Norway and Russia, and but slightly in England and the Netherlands. Where there is an average annual increase of suicide, there is almost always seen a synchronous increase of crime.─Morselli. Still some countries with very small suicide rate have a very large proportion of crime, as Spain and Italy, which have an average of one convict to 8,130 inhabitants; while Denmark has one convict to 110,474 inhabitants, and England has one convict to 132,791 inhabitants.
It has been found that in respect to the departments of France, the maximum of homicides occurred in connection with the minimum of suicides.─Despine.