I put on for my parish... I love that song

Hawthorne's "The Minister's Black Veil" is one of the most enigmatic stories I've ever read. Therefore, before I begin my actual topic of discussion, I think I need to provide some proof for my arguments. The first question we must ask is, "Why is Hooper veiled?" Obviously he believes it is a tangible symbol for his 'secret sin,' but it is our job to find out what that sin is. I remembered, back from my days at Athens Christian, a book in the New Testament that talked a lot about veils, and I found what I was looking for in II Corinthians. II Corinthians 4:3 says, "But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost," however, in II Corinthians 3: 16 we see that, "Nevertheless when it shall turn to the Lord, the veil shall be taken away." According to these two verses, the gospel is veiled to sinners (the lost), but it can be lifted when one turns to the Lord. Spiritually, a Christian turns to the Lord by asking for salvation, but, according to Christianity, a Christian tangibly turns to the Lord when he dies. Therefore, one would think that Hooper would have lifted his veil upon his death, as a symbol that his human sin will finally be shed and he will turn to the Lord. When he refuses to lift his veil, one can only guess that he has committed a sin so vulgar, that he does not believe he will receive salvation upon his death. If we look earlier in the story, we find that the only person to see behind his veil is the dead girl whose funeral Hawthorne presides over. I believe this symbolizes some close relationship between the two, as does the fact that 2 people say they saw Hooper holding hands with the girl's spirit. These clues suggest that this girl was the root of Hooper's sin. Perhaps he was the cause of her death, or perhaps he sinned against her, sexually or otherwise, but whatever he did must have been so vulgar, that he believed it would always shroud his spirit in sin.
With this in mind, I can now guess what Hawthorne was trying to say about Puritan society. Hooper seems to be a metaphor for Jesus. Hooper, like Jesus, becomes famous once he publicly garbs himself in sin (Jesus is considered a Savior because he garbed himself in the sin of the whole world). This would explain why Hooper becomes so prolific after donning the veil, because experience and sin is what brings true knowledge (Jesus's power came from his experiences with the world's sin). Like Jesus, Hooper is looked to as a powerful, yet frightening and dangerous religious leader. I think through this comparison with Jesus, Hawthorne is trying to show how Puritan society relied on scapegoats who would publicly accept their sins (Jesus and Hooper), so they could cast their own sins onto those scapegoats. They purposely isolated these scapegoats and praised them so that they could ignore their own sins and troubles. They are a superficial society which relies on a facade of religious fervor and piety to preserve their own self-image. While, in reality, they are simply trying to ignore or hide their own problems.