The rosary is a collection of beads that faithful Roman Catholics have used for centuries to assist them in their prayers.
Yet, according to a controversial new article published on Sunday by The Atlantic, it has since become a symbol of “extremist gun culture.”
Rosary beads, AR-15s
Author Daniel Panneton argued that the rosary “has acquired a militaristic meaning for radical-traditional (or ‘rad trad’) Catholics.
Panneton went on to compare the rosary’s significance to that of the AR-15 rifle, saying both have become “a sacred object for Christian nationalists.” He insisted, “On this extremist fringe, rosary beads have been woven into a conspiratorial politics and absolutist gun culture.”
“These armed radical traditionalists have taken up a spiritual notion that the rosary can be a weapon in the fight against evil and turned it into something dangerously literal.”