Tag: suicide

Robin Williams’ suicide may not have been that surprising: Baby boomer men are 60 percent more likely to take their own life than their fathers’ generation, according to a Rutgers University sociologist.

Americans are showing more tolerance for a range of behaviors, with sex between unmarried adults, medical research on stem cells from human embryos, and doctor-assisted suicide all showing record highs and increases in “moral acceptability” from last year.

In January, the Department of Veterans Affairs released the newest numbers on veterans suicides, revealing the rate of young male veterans ages 18-29 killing themselves increased 44 percent between 2009 and 2011.

WASHINGTON (RNS) Most Americans hold strong views on the care they want -- or don't want -- if they are faced with an incurable disease. A new survey from Pew Research finds that the number of those who would fight death to the bitter end is growing.

Many religions have held a stigma regarding suicide and, unfortunately, mental illness in general. Decades ago, suicide was viewed differently by society at large, and those who killed themselves were sometimes not allowed to have funerals in Latter-day Saint chapels.

Bestselling author and mega-church pastor Rick Warren and his wife, Kay, have been pushing Christians on social issues for the last decade. They were among the first evangelical leaders to begin championing adoption, which helped turn it into an issue of top priority among the faithful.

The Rev. Martin Elfert, author of our Father Knows Best column, has been prompted to write two posts about suicide recently.

His posts come at a time when suicides are making headlines.