The Westboro Baptist Church, A Radical Christian Group

Facts: Fred Phelps is the leader of the Westboro Baptist Church which is considered to be extremist. Phelps and his followers believe that God punishes those who are tolerant of homosexuality. Since, the United States has a high tolerance of homosexuality, they believe that the United States is damned. The military also has recently become more accepting of homosexuals in their ranks, thus the Westboro Baptist Church pickets many military funerals.

The most substantial of these legal proceedings involving Westboro Baptist Church is the case of Snyder v. Phelps. In 2006, Albert Snyder sued the Phelps family on several counts, namely intrusion and intentional infliction of emotional distress.[6] Snyder’s son, Matthew, died in combat in Iraq and was brought home to Maryland for his funeral processions. Westboro Baptist Church decided to make an example of the fallen soldier, posting an article titled “The Burden of Marine Lance Cpl. Matthew Snyder” on their website. In this piece, they made multiple defamatory remarks about Matthew, such as saying that he was “raised for the devil”.[7] Westboro Baptist Church then traveled to Maryland and protested at Matthew’s funeral. The group carried

Westboro Baptist Church is a Church full of many people who protest at many military funerals. There are many people like the people in Westboro Baptist Church, those are the type of people who hate America. In the year 2013, Westboro Baptist Church was counter-protested at a military funeral. People who hate America and the people who fought for them, should be removed from this country. Westboro Baptist Church is one of the many people who protest at military funerals, there are many more who hate America even though we send people out to fight for them, if those people think that America is not worth their love, then they should be removed and sent to the nearest country, People should be able to understand, that America is a country that fights for everyone’s freedom, and their rights.

This research will address the self-proclaimed prophet of the Fundamentalist Latter Day Saints, a sect of Mormonism based in Utah, Warren Jeffs and his cult of fear. Warren Jeffs had control over ten thousands of followers for nearly a decade. Warren Jeffs coerced young girls into polygamous marriages with older men. Jeffs is estimated to have over 70 wives. The media was shunned, and he created a hidden community where polygamy was prized above anything else. In 2007, after there was a two year FBI manhunt, Jeffs was convicted as an accomplice to rape. Warren Jeff's rise to power effort led to his fallout. Even after his conviction his followers believed that he was innocent and held onto his beliefs and practices.

Bill is a 34-year-old White male from Wichita, Kansas. He is an accountant that is currently engaged to Sue. Bill is a member of the Westboro Baptist Church is hates gays and the Jewish population. Additionally, this church protest the funerals of dead soldiers and victims of other crimes because they believe that God is the reason for their death because of America’s support for homosexuals (God Hates Fags, 2016). The Westboro Baptist Church is classified as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center (Southern Poverty Law Center, 2016). Hate groups have been on the rise since 2000 because of the growing demographics or other racial groups and their progress in society (PBS, 2016).

The Westboro Baptist Church has long been regarded in the media as a group filled with hate and detestation for virtually anyone who does not practice their teachings. In reality, the members of the Westboro Baptist Church hold a strong belief that the messages that are portrayed through their picketing and social media websites are actually acts of love that reveal the severity of the actions that most humans partake in. Most of the members were born into the Church and therefore believe that the words they proclaim are the absolute truth. Although most Americans do not agree with the teachings and practices that the Westboro Baptist Church preaches, it is important to learn about and try to understand the various aspects of the church in

Since the inception of the Westboro Baptist Church in 1955, we have been focussed on preaching against all form of sin and spreading the message of God. In following the 5 Points of Calvinism, we have also maintained aspects of his methods, by using print media to expand our theological philosophy. Just as “the Protestant Reformation [sic] was one to the greatest positive forces […]” of that time, so too is the work we carry out today.

The Westboro Baptist Church (WBC) is known for their obscene protests where they display signs that discriminate towards homosexuals. Although the members of the WBC considered themselves a part of an actual church, the church mainly consists of the family members of its founder, Fred Phelps (Clay, 2016). The church holds beliefs that are similar to Calvinism, a denomination of Christianity. Similar to the Calvinists, the members of the church believe that they are a part of an elect group of people that God has chosen to be his own (Clay, 2016). Because they are a part of God’s elect, they feel they must speak against the homosexuality that is present in America and in other places of the world. They travel around the world protesting and shouting hurtful phrases that cause people to

The First Amendment states that "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people to peaceably assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress

With most churches believing in peace and other freedoms, the Westboro Baptist Church believes in an alternate form of God, a being that is malevolent and vindictive. From this, the church pickets and protests against many modern day events, such as the gay-rights movement and overseas war funerals, in which the church responds with hateful signs such as “America is Doomed, Fags Have no Rights, God Blew Up the Troops”, and other anti-American slogans. Because of these protests, the Church is regarded internationally as being a cult, which preaches hate. Unfortunately, the First Amendment, which allows them to, protects their speech, no matter how unpopular it is. As long as the Church follows all police and protesting laws, and as long as the speech does not fall under: defamation, true threats, incitement to lawless action, or obscenity, then the Church can protest what they wish, without prosecution of the

The Phelps family belongs to a church, called Westboro, which is known to frequently picket funerals, and has done

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to

During the opinion announcement of Snyder v. Phelps John G. Roberts Jr mentions that the Westboro Baptist Church has been picketing for the past 20 years to communicate their views at military funerals. Because they believe God hates and punishes the united states for tolerance of homosexuality, especially in America's military According to Robert " The picketing took place on public land approximately 1,000 feet from the Catholic Church where the funeral was held.” Westboro Baptist Church used the first amendment to protect their freedom of speech. Robert also mentions if the speech was on public issues, then it would be entitled to a special protection. According to the opinion announcement on the Oyez website, “ The signs carried by the

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or the press, or the right of peaceably to

Christianity is one of the largest religions to stand with more than 2.22 billion followers. However, not all Christians feel the same on certain issues, whether it may be political or morals. An example would be the Westboro Baptist Church; a hate group known for its hostility towards those who do not meet up to their standards, specifically members of the LGBT, Catholics, American soldiers, and Muslims. The church originally received national attention in October, 1998, for picketing the funeral of a man named Matthew Shepard who was beaten and tortured for being gay. Romaine Patterson, a friend of Shepard’s, recalled that she couldn’t take her eyes off of the neon signs that reading, “God Hates Fags”, “Matt in Hell”, and “AIDS Cures Fags”. From there, the church had displayed Shepard in their memorial section on their website. The page states that the church does not support the fact he was murdered, but that they picketed in order