A Utah Valley Universiity study shows that religion can be a "two-edged sword" in that it can have positive and negative influences, depending on how people perceive themselves in relation to their faith.

http://uvu.edu/blogs/newsroom/2010/10/14/depression-study-by-uvu-professors-yields-insights-on-cultural-impacts/

Some excerpts from the press release:

"They were spurred to study depression and its effects in the UVU community by a 2007 Mental Health America study, which indicated that the state of Utah was No. 1 in depression sufferers among ranked states. Utah also did not fare well on the numbers of suicides per capita.
“Hypotheses generated by MHA did not seem to fully explain the reasons of the high rates of depression for individuals in the state of Utah,” John said.
A side-by-side comparison of Utah and Texas, which ranked very low in the number of depression cases, showed that Utah does better in nearly every other area compared to Texas. Utah has higher education and wage levels, and more availability of mental health professionals and insurance coverage than Texas, so Jensen and John questioned Utah’s ranking."

"The results of the research suggest that there is a culture of perfectionism that is related to depression found at UVU,” John said. “Aspects of perfectionism found included internally imposed standards, externally imposed standards and a high need for organization and competency. In addition, a person’s perception of their spirituality or religious beliefs and experiences also played a role.”

"A total of 89 percent of the respondents indicate that they consider themselves to be a spiritual person and nearly 79 percent participate in organized religion. It was found that those with positive perceptions of religion or spirituality, and a positive perception of self within the religion, have a protective factor against depression. Negative perceptions of religion or spirituality, and negative self-evaluations relative to the religion, are a risk factor for depression."

My take: Mormonism is a religion of perfectionism. We are taught to be "perfect" just as God is perfect. We are reminded over and over that our smallest failures will count against us at the judgment, and that no matter how well we think we are doing, we can always "lengthen our stride" and do more. I would be very interested in the raw numbers from this survey. I can't imagine that there are very many people within the church who have a "positive perception of self within" Mormonism because most people in the church are convinced they are not doing enough, not good enough, not repenting enough.

This signals to me the direct relationship of guilt to depression. Mormonism believes guilt is healthy and productive. Many years ago, the Ensign published a list of questions to answer in deciding how to choose a therapist. One of the question was "Does he or she feel that appropriate guilt or sorrow for wrongdoing can help someone make positive changes? (A therapist who feels that guilt itself is the problem may focus inappropriately on changing your feelings rather than on helping you change the behavior that causes the guilty feelings.)" So, they dismiss out of hand the idea that guilt might be the problem and instead want the therapist to help you change bad "behavior that causes the guilty feeilngs." Looking at the statements from UVU's study, guilt seems to be the primary problem because it affects perception of how we relate to our religion. And as the study shows, a negative perception (brought on by perfectionism and guilt) is what leads to depression.

It might be worth looking at the article about choosing a therapist: http://lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?hideNav=1&locale=0&sourceId=e78bc5e8b4b6b010VgnVCM1000004d82620a____&vgnextoid=2354fccf2b7db010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD

Some gems:

"What are his or her feelings about abortion, homosexuality, premarital sex, divorce, etc.? (You may wish to focus closely on the problem with which you need help.) Obviously you would not want to work with a therapist who would suggest that you violate your personal or gospel standards."

Yes, by all means close off every avenue of discussion in favor of the church's view. Imagine you're a gay church member; going to a therapist who believes homosexuality is always wrong is probably not going to affect you in positive ways.

"What are his or her feelings about sin and how the Church helps someone overcome sin? (If a therapist questions the existence of sin or its impact in the lives of people, his therapy will be of questionable help.)"

This seems geared more toward maintaining pro-church feelings than in helping people overcome their problems.

"As a matter of professional ethics, he or she will keep your case confidential; but if you request it, will he or she be willing to consult with your bishop?As a matter of professional ethics, he or she will keep your case confidential; but if you request it, will he or she be willing to consult with your bishop?"

This is an open invitation to involve your bishop in your therapy. I can't think of worse advice for encouraging open, honest, and productive discussion of one's problems.

Oddly enough, of the 7 questions, the first 5 are about making sure you stay within church boundaries. Only the last two are about the therapists qualifications and methods. Clearly, the church is more interested in keeping its members in line than it is in helping them.

As I've said before, Mormonism has the ability to make it's believers feel superior and inferior at the same time.

If Mormonism makes you depressed, the church's answer is that it's your fault for not being a good enough Mormon, which only depresses you further.

The more rules there are to follow, and the more silly those rules are, the easier it is to fail.

Mormonism offers far too many opportunities to FAIL.

Your entire life is perscribed from birth. It's a long check list from stage to stage. Along the way your feelings are also a matter of obligation. They are never your own. You can never feel what you truly feel. You can never think what you truly think. You have to pretend that you don't see obvious problems with the church.

You must become phony in order to survive, and you must lie regularly regarding who you are. This happens in every forced "testimony", every "interview", and every assigned lesson or talk that you must give.

You can never be the "real" you, so the "false" you becomes a hidden failure that you can't escape!

Depression and suicide are the two greatest evidences of a failed society.

But not a failed person.

Has anyone done a study on the rates of depression and suiside in diffrent relegious groups?