Derek Cracco

These works are a critique on the notion that gun ownership is a God-given right. Statements like “This country was made from gods, guns, and guts” and “Two things every American should know how to use, guns and the Bible, and neither of which are taught in schools” are figuratively and literally holding this country hostage by creating an impasse within the gun debate.

The link between religion and gun ownership in America is startling. Two out of five self-identified evangelicals own a gun and four out of five have fired a weapon. This is higher than any other religious denomination. From the article, America’s Complex Relationship with Guns, “These gun owners (evangelicals), who skew white, rural and Republican, said that owning a firearm was part of their identity and nearly three-quarters said they could not imagine life without a gun. The embrace of guns by many white Protestants is bolstered by a number of arguments linked to their religious assumptions. One contention is that the United States was established by God and, therefore, the Second Amendment to the Constitution (which they allege guarantees individual gun ownership) is sacred.” Another is that depriving people of “self-defense” deprives them of a God-given right. In addition, they tend to believe that corrupt, un-Christian values, rather than the easy availability of guns, lie behind the frequency of gun massacres.” As Joseph Mattera, the Bishop of the Christ Covenant Coalition wrote, “I pray that [the Newtown] tragedy will cause the nation’s cultural gatekeepers to turn to God again as our only hope!” and like Texas Governor Rick Perry believes “Only prayer can conquer gun violence.”

The faith in a higher power allows beliefs to trump statistics and facts, creating a false sense of security. It promotes magical thinking while allowing individuals to ignore evidence in favor of beliefs. Statistics like, “Owning a gun only puts you and your family at greater risk of injury due to the proximity of the weapon” or that “Americans are more likely to die from gunshot than from skin cancer or stomach cancer combined” are conveniently brushed aside as just someone’s opinion. “According to a 2009 Gallup poll conducted in 114 countries, 65 percent of respondents in the United States said that religion played an important role in their daily lives. By contrast, only 30 percent said that in France, 27 percent in Britain, 24 percent in Japan, 19 percent in Denmark, and 17 percent in Sweden. Similarly, the murder rate in the American South — where the white Protestant Bible Belt is located — has long been the highest in the United States.” All of this brings to question why there is a connection between religiosity and gun ownership when all the statistics point to the damage that guns in a community cause.