Rev. Dr. Carolyn J. Davis is an ordained minister in the United Methodist Church and currently serves as the Policy Analyst for the Faith and Progressive Policy Initiative at the Center for American Progress in Washington, DC. Her latest research examines the relationships between theology, politics, sexuality, and religious liberty, and she has served on the adjunct faculties of Wesley Theological Seminary and Andover Newton Theological School. Her writing has appeared on sites including Talking Points Memo, The Huffington Post, Religion Dispatches, and ThinkProgress.
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When the NRA Writes Your Theology
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When it comes to the facts surrounding domestic violence (or intimate partner violence), the challenge presented in the fourth chapter of 2 Timothy remains as relevant today as it was more than 2000 years ago. In the U.S., “abundant life” competes regularly with the false prophets of violence. The terrifying rate at which women are dying at the hands of their intimate partners intersects with an entrenched American gun culture that has sold believers on the idea that more guns means more safety. In reality, women in the U.S. are 11 times more likely to be murdered with a gun than women in other high-income countries.
Over the course of October, or Domestic Violence Awareness Month, an average of five women per day—155 total—will be killed with guns. Intimate partners will comprise the majority of their killers, and too many who embrace death over life will come from Christian congregations.
The recent shooting in Oregon marks the 294th mass shooting in 2015 alone, a terrifying number in its own right and a reminder of just how far America has enmired itself in the consequences of its gun culture. More than half of all mass shootings also include the death of an intimate partner and family member.