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Saving Grace? Religious ecology and deaths of despair

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  • Seto, Christopher

Abstract

Since the late 1990s, deaths related to drug and alcohol abuse and suicide have increased substantially in the United States. Religious ecology is an important community attribute with theoretical links to these “deaths of despair.” This study uses spatial autoregressive models to explore the relationship between religious ecology and deaths of despair, analyzing 2,992 US counties. Analyses focus on the effects of four American religious traditions (Mainline Protestant, Evangelical Protestant, Black Protestant, and Catholic), and how religious ecological effects interact with structural community disadvantage. Mainline Protestantism is protective in communities of low to medium disadvantage, while Black Protestantism is protective at high levels of disadvantage. Catholicism is positively associated with death rate at high levels of disadvantage. These denominational differences are likely linked to social processes of organizational support and norms about alcohol, which vary in efficacy and salience by community disadvantage. Overall, findings highlight the importance of religious ecology to understanding community health and mortality, as well as nuance in where and how religious ecology matters.

Suggested Citation

  • Seto, Christopher, 2022. "Saving Grace? Religious ecology and deaths of despair," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 293(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:293:y:2022:i:c:s0277953621009746
    DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2021.114642
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    4. Anne Case & Angua Deaton, 2015. "Rising morbidity and mortality in midlife among white non-Hispanic Americans in the 21st century," Working Papers 15078.full.pdf, Princeton University, Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, Research Program in Development Studies..
    5. repec:aph:ajpbhl:10.2105/ajph.2017.303941_0 is not listed on IDEAS
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    Cited by:

    1. Camacho, Christine & Webb, Roger T. & Bower, Peter & Munford, Luke, 2024. "Risk factors for deaths of despair in England: An ecological study of local authority mortality data," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 342(C).

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