More than 1,000 people protested school shootings last month with a rally and march[1] that started in the parking lot of Raleigh’s Pullen Memorial Baptist Church. Some faith leaders say a whole lot more conversations about how the nation can prevent gun violence need to begin at the same place – church.
“What is our voice for?” asked Diane Knauf, associate pastor at St. Andrews Presbyterian Church in Raleigh. “The church is becoming irrelevant if we can’t address these issues. That’s why our [church attendance] numbers are dropping: Because we sit on our hands and we say nothing.”
It’s easy enough for preachers and church members to offer “thoughts and prayers” after an incident like the Parkland, Fla., shooting rampage that took 17 lives on Feb. 14. But approaching the subject of gun violence is more daunting.
In the South, where 38 percent of households[2] have a gun and more than 40 percent of people go to church[3], pastors often worry about offending those who do both.
“Pastors are hyper-aware since the 2016 election,” said Melissa Florer-Bixler, pastor of Raleigh Mennonite Church. As they write sermons or lead meetings or just talk with individual members of their congregations, “Pastors are thinking, ‘How far can you push an issue?’ ” Florer-Bixler said. The ministries and programs of the church, the salaries of the pastor and other church employees — all are paid with tithes and offerings that can easily be withheld by people who feel their personal choices are under attack.
“When we talk about the cost of discipleship, for pastors, it’s real,” Florer-Bixler said.
In the wake of the Parkland shootings, which involved an AR-15-style semiautomatic weapon, N.C. and federal legislators have made no changes so far to gun control laws. This week, two major U.S. retailers, Dick’s Sporting Goods and Walmart, announced[4] they no longer will sell the once-banned AR-15-style weapon and will not sell any guns to people younger than 21. Other gun retailers are discussing their plans.
For people of faith, it’s complicated. While political and religious leanings often trend together, there are religious conservatives who believe additional gun control is needed, and religious liberals who hold broad interpretations of the 2nd Amendment.
Religious faith and gun-control philosophy intersect in myriad ways, including:
▪ whether a congregation should allow members to carry concealed weapons onto church grounds as a matter of security.
▪ notions of the U.S. as a nation blessed by God and of the U.S. Constitution – and the 2nd Amendment – as almost sacred texts.
▪ whether God’s people have a responsibility to defend themselves and their families even if it means taking another person’s life.
People of faith also disagree on the root causes of gun violence in the nation, with some
