ABSTRACT

Several approaches have been used to address the issue of suicide in contemporary society. However, a religious approach in Kenya has received less input. This article, which is a product of a research conducted in Ruaraka Deanery in the Catholic Archdiocese of Nairobi on the rise of suicide among youth, is an attempt to contribute to a balanced understanding of the causes of suicide as well as the mitigation of suicide among youth from a religious perspective. Religions and cultural traditions strongly oppose suicide. Moreover, several African nations including Kenya prohibit suicide attempts. It is believed that religion serves as a protective coping mechanism that aids people in finding comfort and purpose when dealing with traumatic life events or situations like suicide. The youth deal with a range of challenges in life. One such grave challenge is the rise in suicide-related incidents. The Roman Catholic Church (RCC) asserts that God is the author of life. Suicide has long been seen as an unforgivable sin because of this. As a result, those who committed suicide were not given the required church funeral services. However in recent years, a new understanding of suicidal behaviours from the standpoint of mental health has altered public opinion of the RCC. The research adopted two interrelated theories of suicide: Thomas Joiner’sInterpersonal Theory of Suicide (IPTS) as first theory and the second being David Klonsky and Alexis May’s Three-Step Theory of Suicide . The research used a descriptive survey methodology. The respondents' attitudes, perceptions, and methods of teaching the doctrine of the sanctity of human life were successfully gathered using this approach for data collecting. Focus groups, questionnaires, and interview guides were the three devices utilized to collect primary data. The youth, catechists, parish administrators, and clergy of Ruaraka Deanery were the study's target demographics. For clergy, catechists, and leaders, the respondents were chosen using a purposive sampling strategy, while the adolescents were picked using a simple random sampling technique that allowed every youth a chance of participating. 161 (70%) of the sample population of 230 participated in the research. Data analysis was done using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS-2021). The study exposed flaws in the catechists' training and insufficient teaching strategies for the sanctity of human life hence a need to establish new approaches to mitigate problem of suicide.