Mental health and religion: Why men need God now more than ever

American men have been suffering in silence through an unprecedented mental health and suicide crisis — while women’s rights have taken center stage.

Carrie Sheffield, senior policy analyst for Independent Women’s Voice, believes it’s high time this changes.

“Nationwide, we are experiencing the highest suicide rate, the highest depression rate, ever in recorded American history. And unfortunately, men are hit hardest when it comes to suicide,” Sheffield tells Jill Savage and Matthew Peterson of “Blaze News Tonight,” adding that 80% of suicides are committed by men.

“More than 90% of occupational deaths on the job are men. We don’t talk about this. The life span on average of men is far shorter than for women, and so we don’t talk about men. All the left loves to do is to demonize men,” she explains.

However, Sheffield believes there’s an answer for the men suffering in silence.

“Coming to faith, being in faith practice, religious community, religion. This is extremely tied with strong mental health, lower suicide, low substance abuse, and so it was an encouragement to men because men are far more likely to be atheist and agnostic,” Sheffield explains.

“Why aren’t people talking about what men would need in terms of mental health?” Peterson asks.

“In general, I think our culture has become divorced from truth,” Sheffield says. “Postmodern society is truth is whatever the wind is telling us. Whatever is trendy, whatever is hot, whatever is buzzy, and when our society falls away from that, it’s no wonder that then you fall into this situation.”

“I’ve experienced it myself as a recovered agnostic, where if you don’t believe in an eternal truth or purpose, then your mental health suffers. And so, I think for a lot of men, as the quote-unquote ‘feminist movement’ demonized men and tried to sever them from their purpose, which is to serve God, to serve people,” she continues.

“Part of that is this idea that a man could be a provider or a protector or create a family,” she says. “The feminist movement was trying to undermine all of that.”

However, there’s some good news.

“I looked at a headline that came out, I think, last week, and Bible sales are actually up 22% in America,” Savage comments.

“The Bible sales, the 22% increase, which is phenomenal, that you mentioned, this is being driven by first-time Bible-buyers,” Sheffield says. “They’re discovering it by themselves, they’re being, in some ways, pioneers in their own family. And it’s being led by young men.”

“And so that’s a glimmer of hope,” she adds.

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