Most of the religions teach us that suicide is a sin. Killing is generally a sin, or at least an immoral act regardless of religion or the absence thereof. There is just this specific emphasis on killing one's "own" self. Most religions tell that those who die by suicide are automatically ferried into a limbo or a place of eternal confusion, while those who die by the hands of another portrayed to be in a safe place, or sometimes automatically "heaven", no matter what they actually did in their lives. The weight of one's "insolence" is greater when a person commits suicide, because the person is not just ungrateful, but also coward. A killer can be pursued and persecuted by man and by law, but if the killer and the killed are the same person, nothing can be done.
This is not to demean or disrespect religions. This is just to say that there are loopholes in the general views that they impart. I don't know how all religions work, but regarding mental health, I believe that concrete, human support works better than "just spiritual" support. I respect all religions and their efforts to convene their members and keep them peaceful. I'm just saying that, "directing people to prayer" might not be enough at all times. Maybe, on top of suggesting prayer, religious leaders can teach their members (especially the depressed ones) meditation, mindfulness, calming anxiety, and other science-backed practices. Science and religion CAN mix—let's not be closed.
Also, most of the time, religions convene by mass, while the depressed people suffer alone. Let's face the truth—there are a lot of factors that impair the teachings of the Church, such as the quality of the technicals (microphone, speakers, etc.), the conduciveness of the area of conference, the relevance of the topic to the individual listener, the people sitting beside a listener. These are very human and "petty" distractions, but they cannot be denied. Most of the time, they cannot be dismissed just by attaining a certain "spiritual" mindset, not to mention that not everyone who enters the church actually achieves that. Thus, it would help a lot if churches have small support groups and a mentorship program. A support system, even if it's only one person helping one person, means a lot. I know that there are a lot of religions who already have this system. I think it helps a lot to their members.
Source: FreeRangeStock
Not all people who died by suicide are atheists, agnostics, or inactive members. Some of them are religious or faithful people, but were defeated by whatever reason they chose the easy way out. Just telling people to "lean on to the Divine" doesn't always work, and didn't work a lot of times, that's why it might help to try other methods to bring peace to the suicidal person. When a person is depressed, there are a lot of words that don't make sense to them anymore. They might even reach a point they don't recognize the Divine (like becoming indifferent or forgetting as if they never used to believe before), not just stopping to believe. Thus, if we could talk to the depressed people in a more human-level approach, we can help them reunite with peace, then they themselves can return to or discover new beliefs by themselves. Unless we focus more on the person "recovering their own self" than "pushing them to the Divine", their tendency of suicide will never stop. Remember, suicide is more attributed to a lack of self-importance, rather than a lack of spirituality.
The point is, part of taking care of a member of the church is keeping them mentally-fit. But there are spiritual things that take time to understand, that we cannot enforce to a person asking for help in the present moment. The Divine will help the person, but as a person of the same level, we should help too, in a way that gets through and the person can understand.
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