[maxheadroom]

>...one thing that gets overlooked is declining religiosity...

I think, maybe, you're mistaking the community that forms around religion (e.g.: churches, friendships, church groups, etc.) for religion, itself.

If the argument were that lack of religion is a precursor to increasing suicide rates, then we in Europe should be killing ourselves off in droves because we're the least religious lot (compared to our North American counterparts).

[rayiner]

I’m speaking within an American context. The decline in organized religion in the US has been very rapid (since 1998, really, after decades of stability), and other community constructs have not arisen in their place. For example, living with parents or extended family is much less common in the US than in Italy or Spain (which have particularly low suicide rates).

Likewise, the drop in fertility rate has been steeper in the US. Rates dropped from almost 4 in 1960 to 1.8 today. Sweden dropped from about 2.5 to 1.85.

[AnthonyMouse]

> and other community constructs have not arisen in their place.

This is really the issue. If the Church had been replaced by some other form of community, that would be one thing, but it has been replaced by nothing.

[faissaloo]

>I think, maybe, you're mistaking the community that forms around religion (e.g.: churches, friendships, church groups, etc.) for religion, itself.

If countries are having difficulty replacing it is there really a meaningful distinction? Even Europe doesn't have as much atheism or deaths of despair as the US.