The US constitution, the political power of the National Rifle Association and our gun culture are not enough to explain guns in the United States. You also need to understand that guns are sacred in America, and sacred things are not easily constrained or changed. The bedrock of the sacred anchors our political and cultural worship of firearms.

At the symbolic level, guns are sacred to American culture independent of formal religion. Guns are special, set-apart totems of power and salvation in our collective history, myths and popular culture. Life presents hard challenges and guns present one of our presumed best hopes for redemption and salvation. The frontier, fascism, godless communism – all were defeated through the power of firearms. Our providential place in history is impossible to understand without them.

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Looking to guns for salvation is functionally equivalent to religion. At the national level, we have put our treasure and hope for security in the greatest (and most costly) military the world has ever seen. On the individual level, freedom and personal destiny are intimately protected by guns. To paraphrase Paul, Americans put their faith in guns despite seeing very little evidence that security and salvation will come from them.

And the presence and importance of guns is not just a part of our mythic past. Rather, we see guns in popular culture at an alarming rate. Since 1985, the rate of gun violence in PG-13 movies has more than tripled. We see and portray guns (and violence more generally) as a viable way to solve complex, challenging problems. We globally proselytize our faith in redemptive violence via American popular culture.

Guns are also specifically sacred to many American Christians. White Protestants are the demographic group (other than Tea Party members) most likely to report having a gun in their homes, though for evangelicals, theological conservatives are more likely to have guns, and greater religious involvement tends to reduce gun ownership. White evangelicals lead Republicans (38% to 30% respectively) in their support of stricter gun control but are otherwise among the weakest demographic supporters of it.

While these surveys are far from perfect and gun attitudes are a bit of a moving target these days, they do allow us to see that when facing what appears to be a hard choice between putting their faith in God and guns, many American Christians choose both. Religiosity, as narrowly measured by social scientists, isn’t necessarily the most influential variable in explaining gun culture, but it’s certainly in the mix.

White men in economic distress use guns as a means of power and re-establishment of moral certitude

Religion interacts with race. White men in economic distress use guns as a means of power and re-establishment of moral certitude. Black people own guns at half the rate of white people. It is interesting (though certainly only suggestive) to compare the black Christian response to the shooting in the Emmanuel AME church in Charleston, South Carolina, demonstrating reluctance about using guns for church security to the white response at First Baptist church in Sutherland Springs, Texas, where the pastor now reportedly packs a pistol at every church function.

Another relevant social force is unsettled times. The end of the cold war, globalization and deindustrialization, the “war on terror”, and the changing racial composition of the US have created a powerful sense of fear. Some believe traditional American life is under attack. The percentage of American gun owners who say they had a gun for protection jumped 22% points from 1999 to 2013, despite falling crime rates.

When Americans narrate their lives (either individually or as a nation) apocalyptically, as under existential threat from an evil adversary, extraordinary measures of self-defense become acceptable. As a nation this means wars become possible. Individually it means traditional proscriptions against killing are relaxed. You can stand your ground in previously unimaginable ways.

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In Christian communities a few prophetic voices are starting hard conversations about God and guns. They ask tough questions about the role of fear in the faithful life and “Is it always the will of God that I survive a violent confrontation?”. The nation is having its own version of this discussion too. How much do we trust guns to save us? Are there any reasonable alternatives? In what shall we place our faith?

It is not easy to change deeply entrenched culture. Most social research points to the amazing stubbornness people can demonstrate even in the face of damning evidence that their opinions are wrong. Other research (including my own) suggests that substantial encounters with victims of violence can be transformative, given the right conditions. May the survivors of Parkland offer that to us now.