Citation

Young RL. J. Sci. Study Relig. 1989; 28(3): 300-309.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1989, Society for the Scientific Study of Religion, Publisher John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

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.