US ambassador killed over a film

[kandrathe]

Is there actually any evidence that atheists and agnostics deal with adversity one whit less well than religious believers? I hear this argument all the time, but I don't understand what the empirical basis is.

So, ok, here is some info I found --

"Religiously unaffiliated subjects had significantly more lifetime suicide attempts and more first-degree relatives who committed suicide than subjects who endorsed a religious affiliation. Unaffiliated subjects were younger, less often married, less often had children, and had less contact with family members. Furthermore, subjects with no religious affiliation perceived fewer reasons for living, particularly fewer moral objections to suicide. In terms of clinical characteristics, religiously unaffiliated subjects had more lifetime impulsivity, aggression, and past substance use disorder. No differences in the level of subjective and objective depression, hopelessness, or stressful life events were found." - link.

But, again, I would be cautious in equating a link between atheism and suicide without investigating additional factors. For example, other things that might contribute to isolation, such as their profession, IQ, work habit, etcetera. It just might be that a person who is in the high suicide risk population would be there due to their high IQ, and thereby may have fewer friends who understand them. Or, it may be a contributing factor in that their may be few non-religious venues for help. Is the problem then the individuals marginalizing choice, or society's lack of equal access to counseling services?