The fatal shooting of conservative activist Charlie Kirk on a Utah college campus has rocked the nation, prompting religious leaders to reflect on the challenges and responsibilities of living and defending personal faith openly and courageously, the way that Kirk did.
Kirk, who grew up Presbyterian and was active in evangelical circles, was known for openly defending his Christian faith while engaging in political and cultural debates.
In the aftermath of the shooting, religious leaders from across faith traditions are grappling with what it means to express and live out their beliefs publicly and how to shepherd their congregations through the challenging moment.
“There is universal grief at the loss of a life, but there is also grief for the moment that we’re in and polarization that has led to a very dangerous pattern of political violence that is endangering all communities,” Walter Kim, president of the National Association of Evangelicals, told the Deseret News.
“There is a kind of civility, mutual respect that we ought to be pursuing along the lines of deepest differences and that has been violated in the worst possible way.”
The fact that the murder took place at a university is also significant at a time when campuses are already struggling with how to foster diverse voices and opinions, he said.
The tragedy is a “sobering moment” and a time of “collective assessment” of how people of faith conduct public discourse: “Are we (going to be) contributors to the social chaos or are we those who will solve this issue with our words rather than physical violence?”
Tragedy ‘close to home’
Kirk, the conservative activist and founder of Turning Point USA, was shot and killed on the campus of Utah Valley University. The shooting occurred during a public event, while Kirk was responding to questions from the public.
The tragedy hit “very close to home” for his congregants, said Rabbi Sam Spector of Congregation Kol Ami in Salt Lake City. Some attendees had been about 20 feet from the stage at Utah Valley University when Kirk was shot.
Rabbi Spector offered pastoral care to those present, whom he described as “traumatized” by the attack.
“Charlie Kirk went to so many universities, and for it to happen here and all of a sudden our state be global news is really scary,” he said.
Spector noted a teaching from the Talmud: “When you take an innocent life, it’s as if you’ve destroyed the entire world.”
He emphasized that Kirk’s method of engaging with ideas was “not hurting anybody.” Respectful argument is encouraged in Judaism, he said, so long as the goal is learning from one another.
“That’s what we’re supposed to do,” he said.
“What Charlie Kirk was doing was something that needs to be done more in our world, which is talking with people who have profound disagreements,” Rabbi Spector said, noting that Kirk also gave others the chance to share their perspectives.
For Pastor Chuck Beickel, of Faith Baptist Church in Layton, Utah, Kirk not only shared the “truth” but did so in a Christlike way, without violence.
“I’m saddened that it happened in the state of Utah,” said Pastor Beickel, who leads a congregation of about 400 and hosts a popular annual patriotic service attended by Utah public officials.
Pastor Beickel encourages his members to be “biblical citizens” and believes America was founded on Christian principles.
“To be able to sit there and be misunderstood for a while without getting angry, staying Christlike, staying calm,” he said, “it is what gave him so much influence and so much power.”
Preparing Sunday sermons
Ahead of the weekend, pastors are gearing up for how to address the tragedy with their congregations.
Pastor Gregory Johnson, president and founder of Standing Together, a network of Evangelical churches and ministries, said he recently met with other pastors to discuss the messages they plan to share on Sunday.
“Anybody who comes to church this Sunday is going to wonder what the pastor thinks about what happened on Wednesday,” Pastor Johnson said, predicting an influx of visitors similar to the Sundays following the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
Pastors are preparing to make space for parishioners and visitors who may want to process the events.
“There’s a real heightened sensitivity to those who might be coming on Sunday, who might be looking for some clarity in this traumatic time,” Pastor Johnson said, adding that he was “shell-shocked” that the shooting occurred in Utah County, a place he described as friendly to Christian values and morality.
“It’s in our own backyard,” he said.
Pastor Johnson emphasized that Kirk’s message extended beyond politics.
“It’s a real call to faith and an invitation to live for Jesus Christ,” he said. “We feel like he was a prophet to the young people of America, calling them to love America and to love Jesus Christ.”
He connected Kirk’s death to the Christian tradition of martyrdom, in which those who die for their faith are honored.
“In our Christian tradition, the role of a martyr, the role of somebody who is killed for his faith, is a thing of admiration,” he said.
Pastor Johnson acknowledged the grief and anger over the loss of a father, husband and Christian witness. Yet he expressed hope that the tragedy could inspire young people to deepen their faith: “We hope they will step into faith from being on the periphery and become an army of devoted followers who meet hate with love.”
Leaders from the Muslim community also condemned the murder.
“We condemn this murder of an innocent man,” said Shaykh El Hadji Sall, imam at Haneefiya Islamic Community Center in Silver Spring, Maryland, in a written statement to the Deseret News. “Whoever committed this crime seems to have wanted to divide Americans. We cannot allow that to happen.”
Living faith in public
The shooting brought new urgency to the growing risks of expressing one’s beliefs, both political and religious.
Rabbi Spector said he often reflects on living out and defending his faith publicly, especially amid rising antisemitism.
“That’s something that’s constantly on my mind — do I hide my faith or do I publicly demonstrate it, knowing that it could expose me to hatred and bigotry or potentially violence?” he said.
Rabbi Spector has personally resolved to live authentically, though he sometimes swaps his kippah for a baseball hat “out of an abundance of caution,” when he is unsure of his surroundings. As a religious leader, he feels a duty to speak out, even when his views are divisive.
Pastor Beickel said it is “not too late” for America to recover from rising polarization but stressed that more people need to speak up without fear, as Kirk did.
“Pastors are afraid to stand up and tell the truth because they’re worried about losing their 501(c)(3),” he said.
But Rabbi Spector emphasized the delicate balance between sharing one’s faith: “There’s a fine line we have to walk between proudly sharing our faith … versus imposing that faith on others.”
Religious leaders from other faiths called for prayers for the victims of gun violence and their families.
“It is appalling that senseless acts of violence such as this continue to occur,” said Rev. Oscar Solis, bishop of the Salt Lake City Diocese, in a statement. “It seems that our society has lost the sense of the sanctity of life, and I pray that our government will undertake appropriate measures to stop these horrible crimes.”
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints issued a statement, condemning “violence” and “lawless behavior.”
“We also pray that we may treat one another with greater kindness, compassion and goodness,” the statement said. “For members of the church, we reaffirm the Savior’s teaching and admonition is to love our neighbor.”
For many evangelicals across the country, Pastor Kim said, living out their faith often takes the form of service rather than public debate.
“The public figures who pursue vigorous debates and raise issues are precisely that — the public figures,” he explained, noting that evangelicalism is not a singular social identity and has diverse expressions and points of view.
“The vast majority of evangelicals represent their voices in ways that are much less public, but their service is very visible — in their communities, through their churches, and in volunteer work.” It’s how the evangelicals should continue contributing to public life, he said.
“We really need to engage in a mission in this country to learn how to talk with one another again,” Rabbi Spector said. “And learn how to have discourse with people who we have disagreement with, so that tragedies like (the Kirk shooting) do not become the normal.”
