That slap was unnecessary

I think he had a lot of pent up anger and bitterness in him still. I think he was still struggling with the death of his son, and frustrated with Ariel, whom he saw going down a similar path. He was upset that she was choosing to be defiant and live this lifestyle that he felt was immoral and destructive, and when Ariel called him out in front of Vi, I think he just reacted suddenly with a slap. It was probably very out-of-character for him, and he felt awful for it, but it was real and said a lot about where he was at internally. He was losing control of his only living child, while also losing control of a town to a lifestyle that he felt was the reason his son had died. Maybe I'm reading too much into it, but that was how I felt about it.

He should have slapped her harder. She was playing up.

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I think the adults and other teens in the story felt perfectly okay with demonizing Ariel and then Ren and making them scapegoats. Yes, the Reverend was frustrated with Ariel, but he set such a high standard for her, and put so much blame and pain and anger on her from losing his son and her brother, that it's no surprise she acted out. It's easy to see her as obnoxious, but is what she's doing half as destructive as what her father and the other adults are doing?

Same thing with her and Chuck and Ren. Maybe I'm the only one, but I was rooting for her to use that pipe on Chuck. He was a bully and entitled, and if you crossed him in any way, he'd use his fists on you (as when he attacks Ren and Ren's bud late in the film). There's also that early scene when she's trying to leave and get dressed, and he won't let her. Just a total creep.

The Historical Meow http://thesnowleopard.net