ABSTRACT
This chapter presents a set of inductive propositions for a theory of minority clergy deviance. It examines an example of apparent black pastoral malfeasance in its purely descriptive form. The study of clergy malfeasance as a special subtype within larger elite deviance has almost exclusively focused on white pastors and their churches, with a few Asian group exceptions. The black pastoral malfeasance phenomenon ought to resonate more broadly beyond Afro-Americans to larger domains of social identity and allegiances in more minority cultures and religions. One way to develop a set of theoretical propositions about minority congregant responses to clergy malfeasance is to employ a systematic examination of clergy scandal as an evolutionary process rather than as an event. Laity, for their parts, seems to find that their side of the social exchange between pastor and lay persons for assurance versus obedience requires closing of the ranks with the accused pastor.
