Do We Pray, or Do We Shoot? An interdisciplinary approach to reconcile polarized stances: Peace and defense church theological and practical responses to the threat of a mass shooting

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dc.contributor.authorBranscome, Caroline Finlayen
dc.contributor.committeechairCannon, Douglas F.en
dc.contributor.committeememberLawson, Gerard Francisen
dc.contributor.committeememberMulhare, Michael J.en
dc.contributor.committeememberEdmison, Kenneth Roberten
dc.contributor.committeememberMcCrickard, Donald Scotten
dc.contributor.departmentGraduate Schoolen
dc.date.accessioned2023-06-30T08:02:26Zen
dc.date.available2023-06-30T08:02:26Zen
dc.date.issued2023-06-29en
dc.description.abstractThe goal of this research was to find ways to help churches keep safe from a mass shooter. To do that, I hoped to find common ground among academics, law enforcement, peace churches, and defense churches and then leverage that common ground to find ways the groups could collaborate on church safety. I observed three churches and conducted interviews at 14 churches. I reviewed academic literature about academics and law enforcement officers. The common ground I found between all groups was fear of violence, desire to be safe, and a general belief in metaphysical forces. Other key takeaways were that outsiders cannot make accurate assumptions about religious groups based on denomination and that a religious group's response to the threat of violence might not be internally consistent or make sense to outsiders. I designed a course based on my research results and pedagogical best practices. I limited the target audience to police officers because they were the easiest to identify and contact and because their job was to counter violence. Police officers who complete the course should better understand religious worldviews, know examples of how different Christian groups view violence, know how to effectively interact with religious groups, and know how to leverage common ground between religious groups and law enforcement officers. Future efforts include producing the course, observing law enforcement officers, and creating an undergraduate course on contemporary Christianity.en
dc.description.abstractgeneralThe goal of this research was to find ways to help churches keep safe from a mass shooter. I hoped to connect academics, police, and different Christian churches so they could collaborate on church defense. To learn about Christian churches, I attended three churches and interviewed leaders at 14 churches. I read prior research about academics and police. I found that all groups had in common the desire to stay safe from violence and a general belief in a force greater than themselves. I also learned that outsiders could not make accurate assumptions about religious groups based on denomination and that a religious group's response to the threat of violence might not be internally consistent or make sense to outsiders. To apply my results, I designed a course for police officers because they were the easiest group to identify and contact and because their job was to counter violence. Those who complete the course should learn to better understand religious worldviews, know examples of how different Christian groups view violence, know how to effectively interact with religious groups, and know how to leverage commonalities among religious groups and law enforcement officers. Future efforts include producing the course, observing law enforcement officers, and creating an undergraduate course on contemporary Christianity.en
dc.description.degreeDoctor of Philosophyen
dc.format.mediumETDen
dc.identifier.othervt_gsexam:37050en
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10919/115597en
dc.language.isoenen
dc.publisherVirginia Techen
dc.rightsIn Copyrighten
dc.rights.urihttp://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/en
dc.subjectAcademeen
dc.subjectactive shooteren
dc.subjectAnabaptisten
dc.subjectarmed securityen
dc.subjectBaptisten
dc.subjectBrethrenen
dc.subjectChristianityen
dc.subjectchurch shootingen
dc.subjectHolinessen
dc.subjectlaw enforcementen
dc.subjectMennoniteen
dc.subjectMethodisten
dc.subjectpacifismen
dc.subjectPentecostalen
dc.subjectpoliceen
dc.subjectQuakeren
dc.subjectreligionen
dc.subjectRestorationisten
dc.subjectspiritual warfareen
dc.subjectSociety of Frien
dc.titleDo We Pray, or Do We Shoot? An interdisciplinary approach to reconcile polarized stances: Peace and defense church theological and practical responses to the threat of a mass shootingen
dc.typeDissertationen
thesis.degree.disciplineIndividual Interdisciplinary PhDen
thesis.degree.grantorVirginia Polytechnic Institute and State Universityen
thesis.degree.leveldoctoralen
thesis.degree.nameDoctor of Philosophyen

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