Openness to church-based firearm safety interventions among Protestant Christian firearm owners

Objectives: Protestant Christians are more likely to own firearms and not store them locked/unloaded compared to those from other religions. This study examines how Protestant Christians view the rela-tionship between their religious and firearm beliefs and how that informs openness to church-based firearm safety interventions.Study design: Grounded theory analysis of 17 semi-structured interviews with Protestant Christians.Methods: Interviews, conducted August-October 2020, focused on firearms owned, carrying/discharge/ storage behaviors, Christian belief compatibility with firearm ownership, and openness to church-based firearm safety interventions. Audio-recorded interviews were transcribed verbatim and analyzed using grounded theory techniques.Results: Participant perspectives varied on firearm ownership motivations and compatibility of Christian values with firearm ownership. Variation in these themes and in openness to church-based firearm safety interventions resulted in clustering of participants into three groups. Group 1 owned firearms for collecting/sporting purposes and intricately connected their Christian identity with firearm ownership, but they were not open to intervention due to perceived high firearm proficiency. Group 2 did not connect their Christian identity to their firearm ownership; some believed these identities were incompatible, so were also not open to intervention. Group 3 owned firearms for protection and believed church, as a community hub, was an excellent location for firearm safety interventions.Conclusions: The clustering of participants into groups varying in openness to church-based firearm safety interventions suggests it is feasible to identify Protestant Christian firearm owners open to intervention. This study presents a first step in coupling firearm owner characteristics with community -based, tailored interventions with promise for efficacy.(c) 2023 The Royal Society for Public Health. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

This study examines the relationship between Protestant Christians' religious beliefs and firearm ownership and how it affects their openness to church-based firearm safety interventions. Through grounded theory analysis of interviews, participants were grouped into three categories based on their motivations for owning firearms and their views on the compatibility of Christian values with firearm ownership. The clustering of participants into groups with varying levels of openness to church-based interventions suggests the feasibility of identifying Protestant Christian firearm owners who are open to intervention. This study provides the foundation for tailored interventions in the community that hold promise for efficacy.