Religious Reactions to Suicide Cases in Nigeria: A Netnographic Study

Death by suicide elicits reactions depending on one’s perception of the phenomenon or affiliation with the victim. In Nigeria, various motifs characterise the responses to the news of suicide deaths. Some of these reactions are based on religious sentiments and cultural taboos ascribed to such death. There is, however, a dearth of studies that examine the reactions or comments over the news on death by suicide, for most available research only focuses on the impact of this reportage. This study investigated the religious sentiments in the reactions to deaths by suicide as reported on digital media. A netnographic method was used, where 13 social media platforms and online newspaper sites were consulted to collate reports of death by suicide. The comments (164) to these reports were thematically categorised to determine their religious/theological outlook. These reactions were classified under the following themes: prayer to God, the role of God in tragedy, judgment and sin, and worldly and supernatural forces. These help to see that there are Nigerians who still hold and mediate their thoughts within a theological, religious, and/or spiritual lens in the face of a growing number of suicides among young people and adults.