Psychopathy in Church Leadership

Twenty-Two Character Traits: Psychopathy in Church Leadership

Daniel Keeran, MSW Victoria, Canada

Twenty-Two Character Traits:Psychopathy in Church Leadership

by Daniel Keeran, MSW

Some, but not all, of the character traits listed below, may be present in the church leader who suffers from psychopathy. Individuals having psychopathy are attracted to positions of power in the church setting, because they are attracted to opportunities to dominate a dependent or passive or submissive person or group of people. A person may possess traits without the full antisocial personality disorder* defined as a pattern of behaviour violating the rights of others for personal profit or pleasure.

1. Exaggerated style: smooth, skilled, nice, articulate, charming, verbal skills that leave the listener feeling convinced while wondering what the sermon was about 2. Dominating or aggressive communication style 3. Overly passive, often pregnant wife 4. Undermining of others in leadership and targeting others for removal 5. Tattoos 6. Wearing a gold chain 7. Dishonest or conning behaviour, e.g. presenting fake miracles 8. Promising financial wealth in return for a financial contribution 9. A record of arrest or conviction 10. Numerous traffic violations 11. Using anger, power, or church position to intimidate, threaten, or target others 12. Having children with ADHD or observable behaviour management problems 13. Inability to empathize with their victims 14. Childhood history of unmanageable behaviour or ADHD treated by Ritalin 15. Leading a double life that may include multiple sexual partners 16. Inability to accept responsibility or feel sorry for harm done to others 17. Biological family history of criminality or failure to accept parental responsibility 18. Adopted as a child with biological family history of #17 19. Compulsion to get back or take revenge against those who criticize him 20. Verbal approaches to evade or hide the truth: e.g. “The short answer is ‘yes’ (when the truth is ‘no’)”and “It depends on what the meaning of is, is.”

21. Parental abuse or lack of parental discipline during childhood, indicated by truancy, casual sex, animal cruelty, or arrest before age 15 22. Physical assault on others * See the DSM-V Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (American Psychiatric Association).

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