{"id":52960,"date":"2023-05-01T20:29:07","date_gmt":"2023-05-01T20:29:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wagingnonviolence.org\/forusa\/?p=52960"},"modified":"2023-05-11T18:31:33","modified_gmt":"2023-05-11T18:31:33","slug":"idolatry-of-gun-worship-christian-nationalism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wagingnonviolence.org\/forusa\/2023\/05\/idolatry-of-gun-worship-christian-nationalism\/","title":{"rendered":"The idolatry of gun worship"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<a id='tKIZe4l2SRRtTUF44xqQqA' class='gie-single' href='http:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/925472850' target='_blank' style='color:#a7a7a7;text-decoration:none;font-weight:normal !important;border:none;display:inline-block;' rel=\"noopener\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><script>window.gie=window.gie||function(c){(gie.q=gie.q||[]).push(c)};gie(function(){gie.widgets.load({id:'tKIZe4l2SRRtTUF44xqQqA',sig:'ykvVm8chI-FGJnjMFzSZ4R2okPlCjEE8-lb_whKsXuE=',w:'594px',h:'396px',items:'925472850',caption: true ,tld:'com',is360: false })});<\/script><script src='\/\/embed-cdn.gettyimages.com\/widgets.js' charset='utf-8' async><\/script>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the aftermath of the horrific Nashville school shooting that took the lives of three adults and three little children, Tony Perkins president of the Family Research Council, refused to find fault in America\u2019s obsession with guns. Instead, he posited <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/media\/media-mockery-prayer-subtle-smears-christianity-marks-coverage-nashville-massacre\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">prayer being the only solution<\/a> to the crisis of mass shootings. &#8220;We must return to the only lasting source of hope and freedom \u2014 the Lord Jesus Christ,&#8221; he added. \u201cNothing Washington is doing will matter until we acknowledge and address the moral decay and brokenness plaguing our culture.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Perkins isn\u2019t wrong in connecting religion to gun violence. But, rather than a deeper embrace of his organization\u2019s mission \u201cto advance faith, family and freedom in public policy and the culture from a biblical worldview,\u201d what is needed is recognition of the way some are distorting sacred scripture and religious traditions in such a way that it is fueling violence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Addressing America\u2019s gun violence crisis is a daunting and necessary task. An<a href=\"https:\/\/everystat.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"> average of 43,375<\/a> people die each year by gun and it\u2019s increasing rapidly. Between 2012 and 2021 the number of gun deaths<a href=\"https:\/\/everystat.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"> increased by 39 percent<\/a> with gun violence deaths now being the<a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2023\/03\/29\/health\/us-children-gun-deaths-dg\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"> leading cause of death<\/a> for children and teens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">What is both tragic and deeply disturbing is the extent to which religion \u2014 or, more accurately, the distortion of religion \u2014 is contributing to this epidemic.<\/p>\n\n\n<section class=\"display-posts-listing\"><h6 class=\"sans-serif text-uppercase small-letter-spacing text-gray\">Previous Coverage<\/h6><li class=\"listing-item\"><a class=\"image\" href=\"https:\/\/wagingnonviolence.org\/forusa\/2023\/01\/christianity-will-fail-if-we-dont-stop-christian-nationalism\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"714\" height=\"445\" src=\"https:\/\/wagingnonviolence.org\/forusa\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2023\/01\/jan6cross.png\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wagingnonviolence.org\/forusa\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2023\/01\/jan6cross.png 714w, https:\/\/wagingnonviolence.org\/forusa\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2023\/01\/jan6cross-300x187.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 714px) 100vw, 714px\" \/><\/a> <a class=\"title\" href=\"https:\/\/wagingnonviolence.org\/forusa\/2023\/01\/christianity-will-fail-if-we-dont-stop-christian-nationalism\/\">Christianity will fail if we don\u2019t stop Christian nationalism<\/a><\/li><\/section>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/wagingnonviolence.org\/forusa\/2023\/01\/christianity-will-fail-if-we-dont-stop-christian-nationalism\/\">Christian nationalism<\/a> is the belief that America is blessed by God to be a Christian nation, as it was founded, and that civic life and Christianity should be fused together. Connected to white supremacy, nativism, patriarchy and the like, it envisions Jesus not as the humble Semitic man who turned the other cheek and washed his disciples\u2019 feet, but a broad-shouldered, white man with thick biceps and a sword (or if one had been available at the time, an AR-15) at his hip.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A<a href=\"https:\/\/time.com\/6181342\/school-shootings-christian-right-guns\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"> February 2020 survey<\/a> by \u201cThe Flag and the Cross\u201d authors Philip S. Gorski and Samuel L. Perry,<em> <\/em>asked a sample of people to respond to the statements: \u201cThe federal government should declare the United States a Christian nation,\u201d and \u201cThe federal government should enact stricter gun laws.\u201d They found two-thirds of the white Americans who strongly agreed with the first statement also disagreed with the second. Adding religion into the mix, a 2019-2021 survey by the same people found evangelical Christians to rank higher on indicators of Christian nationalism. Analysis by political scientist Ryan Burge of data from the 2020 Cooperative Election Study found that<a href=\"https:\/\/www.deseret.com\/faith\/2022\/5\/27\/23144900\/which-people-of-faith-are-the-most-likely-to-own-guns-mormons-evangelicals-protestants\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"> two-thirds of white evangelicals own guns<\/a>. This compares to one-quarter of mainline Protestants and Latter-day Saints, 17 percent of nonwhite evangelicals and atheists, 11 percent of Jews, and 9 percent of Muslims.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Aside from white militia groups and the extremists who led the Jan. 6 insurrection, some gun manufacturers appear to be among the most out front proponents of the connection between guns and Christian nationalism. They see their businesses as both patriotic and the fulfillment of a sacred religious duty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">About a week after the Robb Elementary School shooting in Uvalde, Texas that killed 19 children and two adults, Daniel Defense, the company that manufactured the particular AR-15-style weapon used by the shooter,<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ashtonpittman\/status\/1530243294868930560?s=20&amp;t=k8WLM81rGCp5tR50jfcCJA\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"> tweeted the image<\/a> of a young child holding an assault rifle with the words \u201cTrain up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it \ud83d\ude4f\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<style type=\"text\/css\">\n\t\t#newsletter-block_0924e85d0ba078c4f07674b0d472d77b {\n\t\t\t\tbackground: #ECECEC;\n\t\t\t\tcolor: #000000;\n\t\t}\n\t\t#newsletter-block_0924e85d0ba078c4f07674b0d472d77b #mc_embed_signup_front input#mce-EMAIL {\n\t\t\t\tborder-color:#000000 !important;\n\t\t\t\tcolor: #000000 !important;\n\t\t}\n<\/style>\n<div id=\"newsletter-block_0924e85d0ba078c4f07674b0d472d77b\" class=\"newsletter px-4 pt-4 pb-2 text-center mb-4\">\n    <div class=\"newsletter-block\">\n        <h3 class=\"newsletter-block\">Sign Up for our Newsletter<\/h3>\n        <p class=\"newsletter-description\">We&#8217;ll send you a weekly email with the latest articles.<\/p>\n        <div class=\"newsletter-form-wrapper\">\n          <div id=\"mc_embed_signup_front\" class=\"py-3 w-100\">\n  <form action=\"https:\/\/wagingnonviolence.us2.list-manage.com\/subscribe\/post?u=f279f100fef8b39c61c33aef1&amp;id=615747eb15\" method=\"post\" id=\"mc-embedded-subscribe-form\" name=\"mc-embedded-subscribe-form\" class=\"validate\" target=\"_blank\" novalidate>\n    <div id=\"mc_embed_signup_scroll\">\n      <div class=\"mc-field-group input-group\">\n        <input type=\"email\" value=\"\" name=\"EMAIL\" class=\"required email form-control\" placeholder=\"Email Address\" id=\"mce-EMAIL\">\n        <div class=\"input-group-append\">\n          <input type=\"submit\" value=\"Subscribe\" name=\"subscribe\" id=\"mc-embedded-subscribe\" class=\"d-flex btn btn-sm btn-yellow\">\n        <\/div>\n      <\/div>\n      <!-- real people should not fill this in and expect good things - do not remove this or risk form bot signups-->\n      <div style=\"position: absolute; left: -5000px;\" aria-hidden=\"true\">\n        <input type=\"text\" name=\"b_f279f100fef8b39c61c33aef1_79af2f1e5e\" tabindex=\"-1\" value=\"\">\n      <\/div>\n      <div id=\"mce-responses\" class=\"clear\">\n        <div class=\"response\" id=\"mce-error-response\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div>\n        <div class=\"response\" id=\"mce-success-response\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div>\n      <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n  <\/form>\n<\/div>        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Daniel Defense is not alone. Florida gun manufacturer Spike\u2019s Tactical sells an AR-15 style rifle named \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.spikestactical.com\/collections\/complete-rifles\/crusader-2\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Crusader<\/a>\u201d with Psalm 144:1 <a href=\"https:\/\/wagingnonviolence.org\/forusa\/2022\/08\/communities-of-faith-must-end-new-holy-war\/\">inscribed on it<\/a> and if that isn\u2019t worrisome enough, in 2015, one of their<a href=\"https:\/\/www.businessinsider.com\/you-can-buy-christian-assault-rifle-2015-9\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"> spokespeople<\/a> claimed that thanks to its \u201cPax Pacis, Bellum, &amp; Deus Vult\u201d settings, the weapon could not be used by \u201cMuslim terrorists.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">An interfaith effort, organized by the Fellowship of Reconciliation, is underway right now to declare <a href=\"https:\/\/forusa.org\/mothersday2023\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Mother\u2019s Day, to be a national day of prayer<\/a>, mourning, repentance and contemplation to solve the crisis of gun violence aided by Christian nationalism. Given the dangers of allowing guns to be regarded as sacred objects whose rights must be protected at all costs, we must heed the words of Howards Zinn, who said \u201cyou can\u2019t be neutral on a moving train.\u201d This May 14, let&#8217;s pray with our feet to end gun violence and overcome Christian nationalism.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By distorting sacred scripture and religious traditions, Christian nationalism is fueling the epidemic of gun violence.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":781,"featured_media":52957,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[61,78],"tags":[21,38,130,139,96],"region":[66],"series":[],"article_type":[],"class_list":["post-52960","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-militarism","category-religion","tag-corporations","tag-guns","tag-militarism","tag-religion","tag-united-states","region-north-america"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v28.3 (Yoast SEO v28.3) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>The idolatry of gun worship<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"By distorting sacred scripture and religious traditions, Christian nationalism is fueling the epidemic of gun violence.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, 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