The Baptist Minister Character Analysis

The Baptist Minister is one of the most conservative ministers in Laramie and the head of a large congregation at the local Baptist church. The Baptist Minister considers himself a “Biblicist,” meaning that he believes in reading the Bible literally and word-for-word. The Baptist Minister, who is firmly against homosexuality, speaks on the phone with Amanda Gronich, telling her that, although he does not condone Matthew Shepard’s murder, he sees it as a kind of justice for Matthew’s gay “lifestyle.” In general, the Baptist Minister seems to see violence as a fitting punishment for what he deems to be moral transgressions, and while he believes that Matthew’s death was fitting punishment for his sexuality, he also believes that Aaron McKinney and Russell Henderson deserve the death penalty for their deeds. The Baptist Minister expresses an ideological orientation towards violence and offers an image of God and justice as vengeful and unforgiving.