Actual article would be nice.

And no, I don't believe it would be higher - there's jyst so many different things to depression

Sigh....

Slartibartfast - "I'd rather be happy than right."

Arthur Dent - "And are you?"

Slartibartfast - "....no."

No. It depends on every person, regardless of faith.

I think that religious beliefs are very damaging and I would be surprised if non-believers are truly more depressed than believers. Also, believers typically insist that happiness is based on their belief system so I wouldn't be surprised to find a surplus of skewed results in studies on the subject.

If the reported rate of depression were higher, that might be due to believers seeking counseling in their church or so on. It doesn't follow that the actual rate of depression is higher among atheists/agnostics, and even if it were, correlation is certainly not causation.

Bull. Ever been in a mental institution? I have, from both sides and there are lots of god believers.

That article depresses me. So I didn't read it.

Let's see some data and sources/

We really need the source and the data from the study, the date released, additional data from other studies etc. It may be from watchtower for all we know. It may be one study that was written 50 years ago. It may be a concsenses of many studies and somehting yo be concerned about. If I recall correctly the opposite is the conscensus of modern paychology and this is attributed to the guilt and social pressures that religiins cause.

Post a link to the article

To consider such, I would want to know the source and the authority of said source. It sounds like some kind of drastic argument from a compulsive lier.

(Speaking from the christian perspective, as that's the one I'm most familiar with)
Without actually seeing the article or the numbers, I suspect it could have something to do with who is actually being diagnosed and treated. As a christian I was told the answer was always a spiritual one, people need to pray and get right with god and it'll uplift their spirit or whatever.
With that line of thinking, my bet is that christians are far less likely to seek any type of medical treatment or intervention for depression, particularly if they view it sf a secular one, and instead they are more likely to treat it as a spiritual issue to overcome. I had a couple friends in high school who, looking back, were severely depressed and most definitely did not recieve proper treatment from thre church (or their religious parents).
With that in mind, it is definitely believable that christians would have lower rates of depression diagnosed, but I would argue that they experience depression equally as often as non-believers, they just view it as a personal failing or demonic situation to overcome.

I would be really curious to see the actual numbers, and if there seems to be any significant difference between practitioners of different religions, and how significant a role prayer and meditation play.

I think depression comes with intellect because intellectual people see what is behind the bullshit the media wants us to see. While simpler people only see and think what is presented to them. Also l remember a great deal of sadness when I realized the uncomfortable truth that there was no guy in the sky keeping tabs on everyone and keeping score. Very much like losing a close family member.

Prayer is similar to meditation. Church is social bonding. If more agnostics would meditate & adopt some pets, well......

I wonder if not to believe in any form of afterlife could be a deterrent from commiting suicide.

I can only speak for myself; so without a link to the study I can have no opinion on it’s truth. There are valid arguments for each side. If the study was done in a scientific manner I would have no reason to doubt it’s truth.

Depression can be situational or chemical. Religious people depend on God to cure them or consider depression a personal failure, so will rarely admit to depression. Rejection or feared rejection based on lack of religious beliefs has a huge situational impact. My guess is it would have more to do with honesty than anything else if true.

When I start to feel depressed, I think about how I don't have to worry about going to hell — or heaven! Cheers me up no end.

It would have been nice if you could have posted the article or a link so the origins could have been known to us so we could have seen if there was any legitimacy to the claim. A very vague post at best and well I will leave it at that .

I'd review the study before answering.

Sounds like nonsense. I think they might be confusing depression with ‘not being very happy’.

Where was the article published and who wrote it?

No, because statistically and numerically there are billions of believers and far fewer non-believers.

If you asked me this as a neutral question, I'd say, "definitely no!'
I'm much happier.
I wish you'd cited the article.

It seems correct to me. I know this. When I come here and folks post things that are outright cold, non-caring, and all, it depresses me, and I leave. I come back another day. However, I have noticed this to be a trending theme.

Not really wired to feel much depression. So out of a sample size of 1 I'd have to disagree. Not being forced to follow a stupid belief structure really keeps me relaxed and happy.