''Herr Pastor'' is a stereotypical

authoritarian Authoritarianism is a political system characterized by the rejection of political plurality, the use of strong central power to preserve the political ''status quo'', and reductions in the rule of law, separation of powers, and democratic votin ...

pastor A pastor (abbreviated as "Pr" or "Ptr" , or "Ps" ) is the leader of a Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutheranism, Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy and ...

in an

ethnic German , native_name_lang = de , region1 = , pop1 = 72,650,269 , region2 = , pop2 = 534,000 , region3 = , pop3 = 157,000 3,322,405 , region4 = , pop4 = ...

congregation. ''Herr Pastor'', literally "Mister Pastor" in German, was a title often used even in English-speaking congregations with

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

heritage, such as

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched th ...

Evangelical and Reformed Church The Evangelical and Reformed Church (E&R) was a Protestant Christian denomination in the United States. It was formed in 1934 by the merger of the Reformed Church in the United States (RCUS) with the Evangelical Synod of North America (ESNA). A m ...

. The leadership style of the ''Herr Pastor'' was, to some degree, a

benevolent dictatorship A benevolent dictatorship is a government in which an authoritarian leader exercises absolute political power over the state, but is perceived to do so with regard for benefit of the population as a whole, standing in contrast to the decidedly m ...

in the sense that the ''Herr Pastor'' held supreme decision-making authority. Depictions of the ''Herr Pastor'' often characterise him as humorless.

References

Sources

* https://web.archive.org/web/20060629035322/http://www.religion-online.org/showarticle.asp?title=1229 German diaspora Stock characters History of Lutheranism {{Germany-culture-stub