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The Protestant Heritage and the Spirit of Gun Ownership
Robert L. Young
Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion
Vol. 28, No. 3 (Sep., 1989), pp. 300-309
Published by: Wiley on behalf of Society for the Scientific Study of Religion
Article DOI: 10.2307/1386741
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1386741
Page Count: 10
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Abstract
Previous research has revealed a strong and persistent positive correlation between Protestant affiliation and the ownership of firearms. Utilizing data from the NORC General Social Survey, this paper proposes and tests two possible explanations -- one religious and one cultural -- for this relationship. The analysis lends primary support to the cultural model. In part, Protestants are more likely to own guns because, as a result of growing up in the rural South, they are more likely to hunt. Among non-hunters, the association between religious faith and gun ownership can be explained by the interaction of a frontier ethnic heritage with rural socialization and religious fundamentalism.
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Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion © 1989 Society for the Scientific Study of Religion