A Weapon in One Hand and a Bible in the Other: Places of Worship Are Under Attack

This qualitative descriptive study aims to ascertain the degree of preparedness for reducing and preventing extreme violence and the countermeasures that are in place (or lack thereof) at houses of worship. All places of worship in this study are considered soft targets and not “holy ground” as traditionally referenced. The terms “places of worship” and “church” will be used interchangeably in this study. A place of refuge for both the physical and spiritual is now considered vulnerable as the congregants are focused on worship rather than protection from an attack. Violence against places of worship will be described at this point in the study as anything from a minor disruption to the most severe kind of violence, such as an active shooter. The theory guiding this study is that places of worship are gun-free zones, thus making them a soft target, and if countermeasures are in place, if any, they will be able to stop the threat at their lowest level of force. Information will be gathered on countermeasures by surveying denominational and nondenominational churches in the Northern Virginia region. Reviewing lessons learned and statistics from other places of worship involved in such unfortunate incidents can be used to determine what countermeasures, if any, were in place and which countermeasures were successful or unsuccessful. Compiling the countermeasures’ success could serve as a platform for all places of worship to ensure their congregants’ safety by preventing or reducing the severity of gun violence in the place of worship.