Including violence in a story can be risky, especially in Religious Fiction. There are certain sub-genres in religious fiction where the expectation is "clean writing" - no cursing, violence or sex. However, if the violence is necessary to the plot or character enhancement, author Jeanne Lyet Gassman advises it can be used with caution. In short, the violence must serve a function. In her award-winning religious historical fiction novel Blood of a Stone, Lyet Gassman uses violence to support an accurate portrayal of the era. Rome was a brutal place and there wasn't much humanity. She advises writers to be aware that there may be a trade-off when including violence in your religious fiction novel, as there are certain publishers and readers who won't consider your work.
I wasn't aware of that and good information to know. Religious fiction use to be very strict. You couldn't use violence, sex, or curse words and it is still the case with some of the publishers. Most of the time they just put it in another genre and not religion.