UNITED STATES
Associated Baptist Press

Should churches, denominations bear responsibility for unethical clergy? Some ethicists say yes.

By Vicki Brown

Ministers are responsible for their actions as individuals, sometimes by civil authorities and ultimately by God. But what responsibility, if any, should the local church and the denomination bear for unethical behavior of their pastors and other church ministers?

That question is difficult for religious bodies that follow a congregational form of governance and that stance has become the primary basis for refusal by many groups, including many Baptist denominations, to compile lists of ministers caught in unethical or immoral behavior, particularly sexual misconduct.

Establishing an organization-wide procedure is more difficult for denominations without a hierarchical structure, says ethicist Joe Trull. “As Baptists, we want to maintain our belief in local church autonomy and are hesitant to be viewed as telling churches what to do,” said the retired professor…