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[[Image:Desperation_man.jpg‎ |thumb|right|200px|Pitzer College sociologist Phil Zuckerman stated concerning suicide rates: "this is the one indicator of societal health in which religious nations fare much better than secular nations."]]  

[[Image:Desperation_man.jpg‎ |thumb|right|200px|Pitzer College sociologist Phil Zuckerman stated concerning suicide rates: "this is the one indicator of societal health in which religious nations fare much better than secular nations."]]  

In regards to '''atheism and suicide''', although there are recent studies relating to [[atheism]] being a causal factor for suicide, an early proponent of atheism being a causal factor for suicide was the Reverend Dr. Robert S. MacArthur.<ref>http://www.adherents.com/misc/religion_suicide.html</ref><ref>http://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/cgi/content/abstract/161/12/2303</ref><ref>[http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9507E2DC1131E033A25754C1A96F9C94659ED7CF NY Times, September 17, 1894, ATHEISM A CAUSE OF SUICIDE.; Dr. MacArthur Preaches on the Sin and Cowardice of Self-Destruction]</ref>  In 1894, the NY Times stated the following in relation to atheism and suicide:

In regards to '''atheism and suicide''', although there are recent studies relating to religious belief being associated with a lower risk of suicide<ref>[http://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/cgi/content/abstract/161/12/2303 Religious Affiliation and Suicide Attempt] Dervic K., Oquendo M. A., Grunebaum M. F., Ellis S., Burke A. K., and Mann J. J. American Journal of Psychiatry Vol.161 Page 2303-8, December 2004</ref>, a causal link has not been established, but that has not prevented people from stating there is one, see, for example, the Reverend Dr. Robert S. MacArthur.<ref>http://www.adherents.com/misc/religion_suicide.html</ref><ref>http://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/cgi/content/abstract/161/12/2303</ref><ref>[http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9507E2DC1131E033A25754C1A96F9C94659ED7CF NY Times, September 17, 1894, Atheism a Cause of Suicide.; Dr. MacArthur Preaches on the Sin and Cowardice of Self-Destruction]</ref>  In 1894, the NY Times stated the following in relation to atheism and suicide:

{{cquote|Dr. Martin urged that a great cause of suicide was atheism. It was, he said, a remarkable fact that where atheism prevailed most, there suicides were most numerous.  In [[Paris]], a recent census showed one suicide to every 2,700 of the population.  After the publication of Paine's "Age of Reason" suicides increased.<ref>[http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9507E2DC1131E033A25754C1A96F9C94659ED7CF NY Times, September 17, 1894, ATHEISM A CAUSE OF SUICIDE.; Dr. MacArthur Preaches on the Sin and Cowardice of Self-Destruction]</ref>}}  

{{cquote|Dr. Martin urged that a great cause of suicide was atheism. It was, he said, a remarkable fact that where atheism prevailed most, there suicides were most numerous.  In [[Paris]], a recent census showed one suicide to every 2,700 of the population.  After the publication of Paine's "Age of Reason" suicides increased.<ref>[http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9507E2DC1131E033A25754C1A96F9C94659ED7CF NY Times, September 17, 1894, Atheism a Cause of Suicide.; Dr. MacArthur Preaches on the Sin and Cowardice of Self-Destruction]</ref>}}  

In 2004, the ''American Journal of Psychiatry'' reported the following:  

In 2004, the ''American Journal of Psychiatry'' reported the following: