the relationship between religious orientation and suicidal behaviors in soldiers

background religion and health have recently received much attention in modern medicine. several studies in various parts of the world have supported the role of religion as a protective factor against mental disorders. one of the common traumas in the field of mental health is suicidal behaviors. adherence to religious beliefs plays an important role in preventing suicidal behaviors. objectives the present study aims to examine the reltionship between muslim religious orientation and suicidal behaviors in soldiers serving at one of the country’s military organizations. patients and methods 1659 soldiers who served in one of military organizations in six provinces were selected using strtified sampling. the instruments included beck’s suicidal ideation scale (bssi) and islamic religious orientation scale. results the results showed that the prevalence of suicidal ideation in this study was 10.9 %. there is a negative correlation between suicidal behaviors and religious orientation. there has been a significant difference between the two groups of individuals (one with suicidal ideation and one without suicidal thoughts) in subscale scores of islamic ethics, islamic practices and religious orientation. conclusions according to the results of this study, there is significant negative correlation between the two variables of muslim religious orientation and suicidal behaviors. therefore, strengthening young soldiers’ religious beliefs and reinforcing their religious orientation can be effective in reducing the incidence of suicidal thoughts and attempts.