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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 25 June 2025
This essay explores evangelical Christians and the public debate over gun rights in the recent past, when white evangelical activism on behalf of the Republican Party and conservative politics converged with the development of a gun culture that emphasized an individual right to bear arms. It argues that political partisanship, attitudes toward gun rights, and the embrace of gun culture have influenced white evangelical identity, revealing internal divisions and raising questions about the nature of their relationship with the secular world. It also examines white evangelicals’ distinctions between “good guys” and “bad guys,” an exercise that requires coming to terms with human sinfulness and evil. The white evangelicals analyzed here see themselves in a conflict that requires both guns and political power to defeat the evil that other people represent. Good guys include both people who protect (“sheepdogs”) and those who need protecting (“sheep”). This worldview envisions little distinction between true Christian identity and American national interests, and it views racial attacks in a colorblind vacuum that reinforces conclusions about the need for guns to defend themselves and their churches. Dissenters within the church criticize the emphasis on individual gun rights and the gun rights subculture many evangelicals inhabit and defend.
1 https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/07/31/americans-are-far-more-religious-than-adults-in-other-wealthy-nations/, accessed September 9, 2022.
2 https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-41488081, accessed September 9, 2022
3 Aaron Earls, “How Frequently Do Church Shootings Occur?” Lifeway Research, February 12, 2020. https://research.lifeway.com/2020/02/12/how-frequently-do-church-shootings-occur/, accessed September 9, 2022
4 Gun Violence Archives. https://www.gunviolencearchive.org/past-tolls, accessed September 9, 2022.
5 For a recent example of historical analysis, see Moore, Andrew S.. “‘We Gun Owners Will Take Care of Ourselves’: Southern Baptists and Guns in Late 20th Century America,” Fides et Historia 54, no. 2 (Summer/Fall 2022): 63–79 Google Scholar; also see, Yamane, David, “Awash in a Sea of Faith and Firearms: Rediscovering the Connection Between Religion and Gun Ownership in America.” Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion 55, no. 3 (2016): 622–36CrossRefGoogle Scholar.
6 Margolis, Michele F., From Politics to the Pews: How Partisanship and the Political Environment Shape Religious Identity (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2018)CrossRefGoogle Scholar; Joslyn, Mark, The Gun Gap: The Influence of Gun Ownership on Political Behavior and Attitudes (New York: Oxford University Press, 2020)CrossRefGoogle Scholar.
7 Sutton, Matthew Avery. “Redefining the History and the Historiography on American Evangelicalism in the Era of the Religious Right.” Journal of the American Academy of Religion 92 (2024): 37–60 CrossRefGoogle Scholar.
8 The literature here is voluminous. On the history of evangelicals and evangelicalism, see, for instance, Kidd, Thomas S., Who Is an Evangelical? The History of a Movement in Crisis (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2019)Google Scholar and Sharp, Isaac. The Other Evangelicals: A Story of Liberal, Black, Progressive, Feminist, and Gay Christians – and the Movement that Pushed Them Out (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 2023)Google Scholar. On race and evangelicalism, see Washington, Brandon, A Burning House: Redeeming American Evangelicalism by Examining Its History, Mission, and Message (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2023)Google Scholar. On masculinity and nationalism, see Du Mez, Kristin Kobes, Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation (New York: Liveright, 2021)Google Scholar. For a recent critique of the historiography, see Sutton, “Redefining the History and the Historiography on American Evangelicalism in the Era of the Religious Right.”
9 Fea, John, Believe Me: The Evangelical Road to Donald Trump (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 2018)Google Scholar.
10 Stroud, Angela, Good Guys with Guns: The Appeal and Consequences of Concealed Carry (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2015)Google Scholar.
11 Ownby, Ted, Subduing Satan: Religion, Recreation, and Manhood in the Rural South, 1865–1920 (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1993)Google Scholar; Daniel K. Williams, “The Southernization of American Evangelicalism (and American Christianity),” The Anxious Bench, patheos.com, September 27, 2022, https://www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiousbench/2022/09/the-southernization-of-american-evangelicalism-and-american-christianity/.
12 Carlson, Jennifer, Citizen-Protectors: The Everyday Politics of Guns in an Age of Decline (New York: Oxford University Press, 2015)CrossRefGoogle Scholar.
13 Southern Baptist Convention, “Resolution on Violence, Disregard for Law,” Houston, Texas, 1968. http://www.sbc.net/resolutions/671/resolution-on-violence-disregard-for-law, accessed August 13, 2019.
14 See McKevitt, Andrew C., Gun Country: Gun Capitalism, Culture, and Control in Cold War America (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolia Press, 2023), 44–45 CrossRefGoogle Scholar.
15 See Moore, “‘We Gun Owners Will Take Care of Ourselves’: Southern Baptists and Guns in Late 20th Century America.”
16 On the SBC’s realignment, see Hankins, Barry, Uneasy in Babylon: Southern Baptist Conservatives and American Culture (Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press, 2002)Google Scholar; and Morgan, David T., The New Crusades, the New Holy Land: Conflict in the Southern Baptist Convention, 1969–1991 (Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press, 1996)Google Scholar.
17 See Cramer, Clayton, Lock, , Stock, and Barrel: The Origins of American Gun Culture (Santa Barbara, CA: Praeger, 2018)CrossRefGoogle Scholar, chap. 13; Yamane, David, Concealed Carry Revolution: Liberalizing the Right to Bear Arms in America, updated edition (Hiawassee, GA: Shades Creek Press, 2021)Google Scholar; and Light, Caroline E., Stand Your Ground: A History of America’s Love Affair with Lethal Self-Defense (Boston: Beacon Press, 2017)Google Scholar.
18 McKevitt, Gun Country, chap. 8.
19 “Why ‘Safe’ Is Not Enough,” Christianity Today, February 3, 1989, p. 15.
20 “Guns: Should They Be in Christian Homes?” Christianity Today, August 18, 1989, pp. 42–43.
21 “In Guns We Trust,” Christianity Today, October 4, 1999, pp. 30–31.
22 Belew, Kathleen, Bring the War Home: The White Power Movement and Paramilitary America (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2018), 188–189 Google Scholar; on assault weapons and the AR-15, see McWhirter, Cameron and Elinson, Zusha, American Gun: The True Story of the AR-15 (New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 2023)Google Scholar.
23 Joe Maxwell and Andres Tapia, “Guns and Bibles: Militia Extremists Blend God and Country into a Potent Mixture,” Christianity Today, June 19, 1995, p. 34.
24 See, for example, C.C. Risenhoover, “RTVC Examines Morals Crisis in ‘America Dream/Nightmare,” Baptist Press, April 16, 1996, Southern Baptist Historical Library and Archives (SBHLA), Nashville, Tennessee.
25 David Grossman, “Trained to Kill,” Christianity Today, August 10, 1998, p. 33.
26 Grossman, “Trained to Kill,” 38, 39
27 Caleb Rosado, “America the Brutal,” Christianity Today, August 15, 1994, pp. 20–25.
28 Terri Lackey, “Shooting Victims, BSSB Battle Guns, Senseless Violence,” Baptist Press, April 15, 1994; “Subculture of violence” is in Norman Miller and Mark Coppenger, “Evaluate Hollywood Violence from a Biblical Standpoint,” Baptist Press, April 15, 1994, SBHLA.
29 See Putnam, Robert D., with Garrett, Shaylyn Romney, The Upswing: How America Came Together a Century Ago and How We Can Do It Again (New York: Simon and Schuster, 2020), 332–333 Google Scholar; and Tufekci, Zeynep, Twitter and Tear Gas: The Power and Fragility of Networked Protest (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2017)Google Scholar.
30 Conservative Christians of Alabama (CCoA), “Gun Control in the Bible.” https://www.ccofal.org/alabama/what-does-the-bible-verses-say-about-gun-control.html, accessed May 7, 2021.
31 ibid.
32 See, for instance, Engen, Robert. “Killing for Their Country: A New Look at ‘Killology’.” Canadian Military Journal 9, no. 2 (2008), 120–128 Google Scholar.
33 See Steve Featherstone, “Professor Carnage,” The New Republic, April 17, 2017, and Seth Stoughton, “Law Enforcement’s ‘Warrior Problem,’” Steph, April 10, 2015. https://harvardlawreview.org/2015/04/law-enforcements-warrior-problem/, accessed October 22, 2022.
34 Lt. Col. Grossman, Dave and Davis, Adam, On Spiritual Combat: 30 Missions for Victorious Warfare (Savage, MN: BroadStreet Publishing Group, 2020), 21–23 Google Scholar.
35 CCoA, “Gun Control in the Bible.”
36 Stephanie Rogish and Lt. Col. Grossman, Dave, Why Mommy Carries a Gun (Mascoutah, IL: KRG, LLC, 2018)Google Scholar, quotation on p. 9. The other children’s book is Sheepdogs: Meet Our Nation’s Warriors (Jackson, WI: Delta Defense, LLC, 2013).
37 SBC Life, November 1999; SBC Life, October 2000, SBHLA.
38 Michelle Tyer, “‘Sheepdog’ Sessions Prepare Churches for Violence,” Baptist Press, July 17, 2013.
39 Whitehead, Andrew L. and Perry, Samuel L., Taking America Back for God: Christian Nationalism in the United States (New York: Oxford University Press, 2020), 13, 153 CrossRefGoogle Scholar.
40 Whitehead, Andrew L., Schnabel, Landon, and Perry, Samuel L., “Gun Control in the Crosshairs: Christian Nationalism and Opposition to Stricter Gun Laws.” Socius: Sociological Research for a Dynamic World 4 (2018): 1–13 CrossRefGoogle Scholar.
41 John Rivera, “Where Religion, Guns Mix,” Baltimore Sun, June 20, 1998.
42 “Why School Shootings: Not Enough God, Not Enough Guns,” Daily Stand Email, February 15, 2018, American Family Association. https://www.afa.net/the-stand/culture/2018/02/why-school-shootings-not-enough-god-not-enough-guns/, accessed June 5, 2019.
43 Kyle Mantyla, “Cass: You Can’t Be a Christian If You Don’t Own a Gun,” Right-Wing Watch, October 25, 2012.
44 Katherine Q. Seelye, “Pastor Urges His Flock to Bring Guns to Church,” New York Times, June 25, 2009.
45 GeorgiaCarry.Org Inc., The Baptist Tabernacle of Thomaston, Georgia, Edward Stone and Jonathan Wilkins, v. State of Georgia, et al, On Petition for a Writ of Certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. https://www.georgiacarry.org/com/state/places_of_worship/GCO%20Cert%20Petition.pdf, accessed September 9, 2022. For an earlier example of this, see Ken Camp, “Texas Churches Must Display Notices to Keep Weapons Out,” Baptist Press, October 31, 1997.
46 GeorgiaCarry.Org Inc., The Baptist Tabernacle of Thomaston, Georgia, Edward Stone and Jonathan Wilkins, v. State of Georgia, et al. https://www.georgiacarry.org/com/state/places_of_worship/Doc%206-2%20Brief%20in%20Support.pdf, accessed September 9, 2022.
47 Molly Hennessy-Fiske, “Texas Preacher Teaches Guns and Religion,” Los Angeles Times, April 5, 2013. https://www.latimes.com/local/great-reads/la-na-pistol-pastor-20130405-dto-htmlstory.html#axzz2ndHR20CU, accessed April 19, 2021; “Pistol-Packing Preacher Teaches a One-Day Concealed Weapons Course,” USA Today, February 17, 2013, accessed October 22, 2022. The “peaceful society” quotation comes from the USA Today article.
48 “Time for God’s Men to Pack Heat to Church,” Daily Stand Email, American Family Association. https://www.afa.net/the-stand/culture/2017/11/time-for-god-s-men-to-pack-heat-to-church/, accessed June 5, 2019.
49 See Cramer, Lock, Stock, and Barrel: The Origins of American Gun Culture, chap. 1.
50 Bethany Blankley, “What the Bible Says About the Second Amendment,” Charisma News, May 26, 2026. https://www.charismanews.com/politics/opinion/57429-what-the-bible-says-about-the-second-amendment, accessed June 18, 2019. On the Bible’s use in public policy, see Scheiss, Kaitlyn, The Ballot and the Bible: How Scripture Has Been Used and Abused in American Politics and Where We Go from Here (Grand Rapids, MI: Brazos Press, 2023)Google Scholar.
51 Hennessy-Fiske, “Texas Preacher Teaches Guns and Religion”; “Pistol-Packing Preacher Teaches a One-Day Concealed Weapons Course.”
52 “Time for God’s Men to Pack Heat to Church.”
53 Steve Cable, “A Christian Worldview Appraisal of Gun Control and the Second Amendment,” Probe Ministries. https://probe.org/a-christian-worldview-appraisal-of-gun-control-and-the-second-amendment/, accessed April 19, 2021.
54 KLST-TV link in Brockman, “Pistol-Packin’ Christians”
55 Barack Obama, “Remarks by the President in Eulogy for the Honorable Reverend Clementa Pinckney,” June 26, 2015. https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2015/06/26/remarks-president-eulogy-honorable-reverend-clementa-pinckney, accessed January 17, 2024.
56 Jack Jenkins, “Lawmakers Calling for More Guns in Church Have a Theology Problem,” ThinkProgress, November 6, 2017. https://archive.thinkprogress.org/guns-church-theology-problem-0cde29cf72f8/, accessed April 25, 2021.
57 For the classic discussion of this, see Emerson, Michael O. and Smith, Christian, Divided by Faith: Evangelical Religion and the Problem of Race in America (New York: Oxford University Press, 2000)Google Scholar; and Curtis, Jesse, The Myth of Colorblind Christians: Evangelicals and White Supremacy in the Civil Rights Era (New York: NYU Press, 2021)Google Scholar.
58 On the racial boundaries of evangelicalism, see Anyabwile, Thabiti, “Evangelicalism and White Christian Nationalism,” in Urban Apologetics: Cults and Cultural Ideologies, ed. Mason, Eric (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2023)Google Scholar.
59 Julie Zauzmer, “The Alleged Synagogue Shooter Was a Churchgoer Who Articulated Christian Theology, Prompting Tough Questions for Evangelical Pastors,” The Washington Post, May 1, 2019; “John T. Earnest Sentenced to Life Plus 30 years in Prison for Federal Hate Crimes Related to 2019 Poway Synagogue Shooting and Attempted Mosque Arson,” Department of Justice, Southern District of California Press Release, December 28, 2021, Press Release Number: CAS21-1228-Earnest; for the manifesto itself, see https://bcsh.bard.edu/files/2019/06/Earnest-Manifesto-042719.pdf, accessed August 18, 2019.
60 Zauzmer, “The Alleged Synagogue Shooter Was a Churchgoer Who Articulated Christian Theology, Prompting Tough Questions for Evangelical Pastors”; Earnest manifesto. On the AR-15, see McWhirter and Elinson, American Gun.
61 Gary L. Frost, “Consistency Requires Concern about Weapons,” Light, September–October, 1993, 8, 10, SBHLA.
62 Adelle M. Banks, “Black Pastors: Gun Violence Isn’t Just a Problem for White Suburbs,” Religion News Service, April 24, 2013, accessed June 11, 2019.
63 See Hansen, Collin, Young, Restless, and Reformed: A Journalist’s Journey with the New Calvinists (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2018)Google Scholar.
64 Jen Hatmaker and Karen Swallow Prior, “Sandy Hook Five Years Later: Can Christians Find Common Ground on Guns?” Weblog post, Washington Post, December 14, 2017.
65 Author interview with Michael Tan, July 19, 2019. Also see Tan’s website, https://biblicalselfdefense.com, which was based on a Bible study class he led for his church.
66 Claiborne, Shane and Martin, Michael, Beating Guns: Hope for People Who Are Weary of Violence (Grand Rapids, MI: Brazos Press, 2019)Google Scholar.
67 Rob Schenck, “Should Christians Own Guns?” Sojourners, May 2016.
68 On Schenck, see Kelsey Dallas, “Faith and Firearms: Religious Leaders Question How to Address Gun Violence in Churches,” Deseret News, May 21, 2016; and the documentary film The Armor of Light, directed by Abigail E. Disney (Samuel Goldwyn Films, 2015). For other examples, Claiborne and Martin, Beating Guns and Austin, Michael, God and Guns in America (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 2020)Google Scholar.
69 Schenck, Rob, Costly Grace: An Evangelical Minister’s Rediscovery of Faith, Hope, and Love (New York: Harper Collins, 2018), p. 273 Google Scholar.
70 David French, “It’s Not ‘Pro-Life’ to Ask Evangelicals to Disarm,” National Review, October 12, 2015, accessed July 19, 2019.
71 David French, “What Critics Don’t Understand About Gun Culture.” Atlantic: Web Edition Articles (USA), February 27, 2018.
72 David French, “Against Gun Idolatry,” The Dispatch, June 5, 2022, https://thedispatch.com/newsletter/frenchpress/against-gun-idolatry/
73 Russell Moore, “Is Gun Control a Christian Issue?” https://www.russellmoore.com/2016/01/05/is-gun-control-a-christian-issue/, accessed April 19, 2021.
74 Moore, Russell, Losing Our Religion: An Altar Call for Evangelical America (New York: Sentinel, 2023)Google Scholar.