Psycho-religious mechanism of suicide: Comparison
Please note this is a comparison between Version 11 by Tam-Tri Le and Version 10 by Tam-Tri Le.

The psycho-religious mechanism of suicide is an information processing mechanism of how the mind perceives the idea of self-killing, with a focus on the factor of trust as well as mortality-related information from religious sources. It can be considered an expansion of the new Mindsponge-based suicidal ideation mechanism.

  • mindsponge
  • suicide attack
  • suicide bomber
  • terrorism
  • psycho-religious mechanism

Background

In the two decades after the 9/11 incident, the annual total fatality due to suicide attacks is nearly 2500; there have been approximately 43000 deaths from suicide bombings across 56 countries [1]. During this time, the USA  launched Global War on Terrorism, which mainly targeted extremist groups such as Al-Qaeda and Taliban [2]​  and is still undergoing until nowadays.​  The spending of the United States on counterterrorism programs got close to reaching 3 trillion dollars [3] [2]. The European Union member states, Russia, and China also put a lot of resources and efforts into controlling terrorist threats.

Regarding the understanding of the psychology of suicide attackers, although many scholars agree that religiosity can significantly influence their thoughts and behaviors [3][4][5][6][7], past theories and approaches have still not been able to reach a major consensus due to the lack of a foundational dynamic framework. Meanwhile, major religions in the world are known to promote peace and generally condemn suicide. Studies on the relationship between religions and suicide found many unexplained inconsistencies [7][8][9][10], for there has been a lack of deep exploration into its psychological mechanism in terms of information processing. It is worth noting that past studies have shown religions have protective effects against suicidal attempts but not suicidal ideation.

Psycho-religious mechanism

The psycho-religious mechanism of suicide is developed based on the foundation of the suicidal ideation mechanism [1110] using the Mindsponge information-processing framework [11][12][13]. The two basic conditions include information accessibility (sources for reception) and information filtering (through subjective cost-benefit judgments). In the psycho-religious mechanism, the factor of trust in religiosity is particularly focused. The main rationale and principles of the mechanism are briefly presented as follows.

Religious teachings are a major source of information on death and death’s spiritual meanings in society. Reception of such information increases the probability of considerations about those aspects. In people with low social connectedness, the ratio of information reception from religious sources is higher; this is due to the differences in properties between generalized social trust and religious faith/belief. Religious people also have a higher level of reliance on religious leaders as a source for help-related information in situations of personal difficulties (which follows the same pattern of trusting as above). Thus, under the condition of low social connectedness, religiosity and reception from religious information sources can increase the probability of suicidal ideation. It is crucial to note that suicidal ideation is only the consideration on the option of suicide. As religious people highly trust religious leaders (and their interpretations of religious teachings), the leading figures have an important and effective role in preventing suicidal ideation from progressing into attempts.

In a hostile context, extremist groups can exploit the trusting pattern and death’s value judgment in the psycho-religious mechanism to recruit suicide-bombers. Dangerously, these extremists may deliberately misinterpret religious teaching for effectively attaching values of violence to the action of suicide with a high level of acceptance, which not only increases the subjective benefit of suicide but also links it with violent actions (suicide attack). Applying the same principles in the psycho-religious mechanism, countermeasures should be mutual trust-building in a sustainably open multicultural living environment with careful management based on proper understanding and collaboration.

The psycho-religious mechanism of suicide first appeared and discussed in the book titled "A Mindsponge-Based Investigation into the Psycho-Religious Mechanism Behind Suicide Attacks" [1413]. Based on the mechanism, the book's authors suggest practical collaborations between religious leaders and governments as well as international trust-building coordinated by an improved United Nations.

References

  1. Chicago Project on Security and Threats (CPOST). (2021). Database on Suicide Attacks (October 2, 2020 Release). Retrieved from: http://cpost.uchicago.edu/
  2. Stimson Study Group on Counterterrorism Spending. (2018). Protecting America while promoting efficiencies and accountability. Retrieved from Washinton DC: https://www.stimson.org/wp-content/files/file-attachments/CT_Spending_Report_0.pdf Stimson Study Group on Counterterrorism Spending. (2018). Protecting America while promoting efficiencies and accountability. Retrieved from Washinton DC: https://www.stimson.org/wp-content/files/file-attachments/CT_Spending_Report_0.pdf
  3. Horowitz MC. (2015). The Rise and Spread of Suicide Bombing. Annual Review of Political Science, 18(1), 69–84. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-polisci-062813-051049
  4. Pape RA. (2008). Dying to Win: The Strategic Logic of Suicide Terrorism. In Perry M & Negrin HE (Eds.), The Theory and Practice of Islamic Terrorism: An Anthology (pp. 129–132). Palgrave Macmillan US. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230616509_18
  5. Merari A. (2010). Driven to death: Psychological and social aspects of suicide terrorism. Oxford University Press.
  6. Crenshaw M. (2007). “Explaining Suicide Terrorism: A Review Essay.” Security Studies, 16(1), 133–162. https://doi.org/10.1080/09636410701304580
  7. Gearing RE, Lizardi D. (2009). Religion and Suicide. Journal of Religion and Health, 48(3), 332–341. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-008-9181-2Gearing RE, Lizardi D. (2009). Religion and Suicide. Journal of Religion and Health, 48(3), 332–341. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-008-9181-2
  8. Gearing RE, Alonzo D. (2018). Religion and Suicide: New Findings. Journal of Religion and Health, 57(6), 2478–2499. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-018-0629-8
  9. Lawrence RE, Oquendo MA, Stanley B. (2016). Religion and Suicide Risk: A Systematic Review. Archives of Suicide Research, 20(1), 1–21. https://doi.org/10.1080/13811118.2015.1004494
  10. Nguyen MH, Le TT, Nguyen HKT, Ho MT, Nguyen HTT, Vuong QH. (2021). Alice in Suicideland: Exploring the suicidal ideation mechanism through the sense of connectedness and help-seeking behaviors. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(7), 3681. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18073681
  11. Vuong QH. (2016). Global mindset as the integration of emerging socio-cultural values through mindsponge processes: A transition economy perspective. In J. Kuada (Ed.), Global Mindsets: Exploration and Perspectives (pp. 123-140). New York: Routledge.
  12. Vuong QH, Napier NK. (2015). Acculturation and global mindsponge: An emerging market perspective. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 49, 354-367. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijintrel.2015.06.003Vuong QH, Napier NK. (2015). Acculturation and global mindsponge: An emerging market perspective. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 49, 354-367. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijintrel.2015.06.003
  13. Vuong QH, Nguyen MH, Le TT. (2021). A Mindsponge-Based Investigation into the Psycho-Religious Mechanism Behind Suicide Attacks. Sciendo. https://doi.org/10.2478/9788366675599
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