Still ‘God, Guns & Glory’

By Nigel Tomes, Jan. 26, 2013

Against the Trend: US Evangelicals Still Oppose Gun Controls

In the wake of the massacre of 20 elementary children, plus 6 teachers at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, CT. public support for stricter gun controls in the US has grown. In a recent USA TODAY/Gallup Poll, 58% of those surveyed backed tougher restrictions-- a 15 percentage-point increase from 43% in Oct. 2011. A new survey by the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI Jan. 2013) also shows a sizeable majority, three-in-every-five (60% of) US adults favour stricter gun controls. That’s an increase of 8 percentage points, up from 52% PRRI found in Aug. 2012. There’s also been an 8 percentage point increase in the number of Americans who say improved mental health screening and support is the best way to prevent mass shootings from occurring in the U.S. (30% Jan. 2013 vs. 22% in Aug. 2012).

These overall changes, however, mask stark underlying differences. The attitudes of some Christian denominations have changed dramatically. But other Christian groups remain firmly entrenched in their views about gun rights & gun controls; their attitudes seem largely unaffected by recent high-profile gun massacres. US Mainline Protestants (e.g. United Methodist, Lutheran, Episcopal, Presbyterian USA) belong to the former; US “Evangelical Protestants” (e.g. Southern Baptist, Assemblies of God, Charismatic, etc) belong to the latter. Let’s look at these two groups.

Mainline Protestants—stricter gun laws, more enforcement

The views of US White Mainline Protestant Churches (e.g. United Methodist, Lutheran, Episcopal, Presbyterian USA, etc) have changed markedly in the last 6 months. Among white mainline Protestants support for stricter gun control laws increased by 15 percentage-points from 42% in Aug. 2012 to 57% in Jan. 2013. Now a clear majority (57%) of this demographic group backs tougher gun laws.

Support for stricter enforcement of existing gun control laws also grew dramatically. There was a notable 19 percentage-point increase in support among white mainline Protestants for stricter enforcement of gun laws—from 56% in Aug. 2012 to 3-out-of-4 (75%) in Jan 2013. So US White Mainline Protestants raised their support for (1) stricter gun controls and also (2) for tougher enforcement of existing gun legislation.

Evangelical Protestants—No Change

Against this backdrop the lack of change among White Evangelical Protestants is remarkable. In the Jan. 2013 PRRI survey, White evangelical Protestants stand out as the group least likely to support stricter gun control laws (38% in favor, 59% oppose). Put differently, US White evangelicals are the staunchest supporters of the “right to bear arms.” Moreover, there’s been no significant change in their opposition to tougher gun laws. In Aug. 2012 only 35% supported tougher laws; by Jan. 2013 support stood at 38%, (the 3% change is within sampling error). Stated differently, for every two evangelicals supporting tougher gun laws, there are three who oppose. Moreover, these numbers are the “mirror image” of the overall US population; three US citizens now support stricter gun laws for every two who oppose. So the gap between evangelicals and the rest of the US population on gun issues is growing. Evangelicals are out-of-step with the US population as a whole; plus the gap is growing.

There’s a small glimmer of hope for gun control advocates in the PRRI’s latest results. White evangelical Protestants are now less likely to support loosening gun control laws (19% in Jan 2013 vs. 35% in Aug. 2012). Put differently, while over one-in-three evangelicals advocated less gun controls 6-months ago, this number has now dropped to one-in-five. This might reflect an underlying shift; however, it could just reflect the overall social climate—maintaining the status quo might be the best outcome gun-rights advocates can expect in 2013.  

Evangelicals: God & Morality

Another statistic supports the view that evangelicals’ attitudes on gun issues haven’t changed. When asked “what is the most important single measure to prevent future mass killings?” White evangelical Protestants stand out as only religious group in which a plurality (40% in Jan. 2013) said putting more emphasis on God & morality in school & society is most important measure to prevent future mass shootings. In Aug. 2012 36% of White evangelical Protestants gave this response. This attitude hasn’t changed, (it’s 40% in Jan. 2013) despite shifting views among the overall population. Other groups—Catholics, Mainline Protestants, etc, picked different measures—better mental health screening & support, tougher gun laws, etc.

Others: Gun Control & Mental Health

Evangelicals point to God & ethics as the best single preventative measure. Meanwhile other Americans look elsewhere. Taken as a whole 3-in-10 (30%) Americans cite better mental health screening & support, and one-quarter (25%) point to stricter gun control laws & enforcement as the best single preventative. Only 1-in-5 (20%) of US adults say placing more emphasis on God and morality is the best single measure. Americans in general favor gun controls and mental health measures, while evangelicals favor God and morality. Perhaps we should ask: who’s being more practical?

Leaders vs. Grass Roots

Other recent data suggests there’s a disparity between Church leaders and “grass roots” members of US evangelical churches. After December’s massacre in Newtown CT a survey by the US National Assoc. of Evangelicals (NAE) found most evangelical leaders agree that more gun regulations are needed. When asked whether the government should increase gun regulations, 73% agreed that it should. Bill Lenz, Pastor of Christ the Rock Church, WI. favors stricter gun laws. "… I do not believe that guns are the heart of the problem, but there should be strong regulations on who can bear arms," he said. "The easy access to guns has undoubtedly contributed to horrible tragedies. There are multiple ways to address our current problem, and greater gun regulations are one of them."

But note the disparity here—three-out-of-four (73%) evangelical leaders support tougher gun laws, but only two-out-of-five (38% of) “grass roots” evangelicals. Perhaps the NAE survey isn’t representative of all evangelicals. If it is representative, it implies evangelical leaders are on a “different page” than their congregations on the gun control issue. This suggests that evangelical leaders ought to address this issue boldly and persistently if they want to bring their congregations “on board” regarding gun controls.

Pro-Life & Pro-Gun Paradox

Commenting on the survey results, NAE President, Leith Anderson said, "Evangelicals are pro-life and deeply grieve when any weapons are used to take innocent lives…The evangelical leaders support the 2nd Amendment right to bear arms but also want our laws to prevent the slaughter of children." Clearly NAE President, Leith Anderson, considers both gun control and abortion as “pro-life” issues--if evangelicals support the “right to life” of the unborn by opposing abortion, they ought also to support the “right to life” of potential shooting victims like the children in Newtown, CT, by supporting tougher gun control legislation. Moreover advocates argue this is not a case of “either-or,” but of “both.” If all human life is made in God’s image that principle applies to both the unborn and potential shooting victims. Hence we might expect Christians who identify themselves as “pro-life” to also support stricter gun controls, as also being “pro-life.” That’s the logic behind this argument.

However, US evangelical Protestants evidently don’t see gun controls as a “pro-life” issue. The PRRI survey found that, among white evangelical Protestants, being “pro-life” is correlated with opposition to stricter gun control laws. Among evangelicals who say the term “pro-life” describes them very well, 64% oppose stricter gun control laws, compared to 33% who favor them. The opposition to gun controls among “pro-life” evangelicals (64%) is greater than among evangelicals as a whole (59%). Conversely support for tougher gun controls is lower among “pro-life” evangelicals (33%), than among evangelicals as a whole (38%). Again, this suggests that evangelical leaders have their work cut out if they want to persuade “grass roots” evangelicals that gun control is a “pro-life” issue, rather than a personal liberty issue, expressed in the “right to bear arms.” It’s time for evangelical leaders and evangelical publications (e.g. Christianity Today) to speak out on this issue.

Evangelical Leaders should speak out against Guns

Personally, I feel that the Bible is clear on the issue of guns. Jesus told Pilate, “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world.” (John 18:36). Jesus prohibited his disciples from fighting, even defensively. He told Peter, “Put your sword back into its place. For all who take the sword will perish by the sword.” (Matt. 26:52) This principle ought to be extended from “swords” to other weapons—handguns, semi-automatic guns, etc. Jesus’ disciples were told to “turn the other cheek” (Matt. 5:39) and flee, rather than fight, in the face of persecution—“When they persecute you in one town, flee to the next…” (Matt. 10:23) This latter principle was practiced by the Apostle Paul (2 Cor. 11:33).

Trusting God or Guns?

Despite Scripture’s clear teaching, US White Evangelical Protestants are more likely to have a gun than the US population as a whole. We ask: “what are they trusting for their protection—God or Guns?” What has greater influence on their life—the 2nd Amendment “right to bear arms” or the 2nd great commandment—“love your neighbor as yourself”?

The opinions expressed here are those of the author.

Notes:

1. The Public Religion Research Institute Survey results for Jan. 2013 athttp://publicreligion.org/research/2013/01/january-2013-tracking-poll/

2. The US National Assoc. of Evangelicals (NAE) survey of evangelical leaders was reported inhttp://www.churchleaders.com/pastors/pastor-articles/164962-survey-most-evangelical-leaders-want-more-gun-control.html