Editing Westboro Baptist Church (section)

==Church views==
The Westboro Baptist Church considers membership in most religious groups, such as the Roman Catholic Church, Orthodox Christianity, Islam, Judaism, and Mormonism as akin to [[Satanism|devil worship]], and states these other churches to be "Satanic frauds preaching [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arminianism Arminian] lies". All non-Christian entities, non-Protestant Christian churches, and all Protestant Christian churches that do not strongly condemn homosexuality or align their beliefs and practices exactly with that of the WBC are said to be sending their members to Hell.
===Purpose of protests and church actions===
In the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BBC BBC] documentary ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Most_Hated_Family_in_America The Most Hated Family in America]'', filmmaker [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Theroux Louis Theroux] questioned Shirley Phelps-Roper as to whether she had considered that Westboro's technique of protests were more likely to "put people ''off'' the Word of Jesus Christ and the Bible". In response, Phelps-Roper said, "''You'' think our job is to win souls to Christ. All we do, by getting in their face and putting these signs in front of them and these plain words, is make what's already in their heart come out of their mouth." Later in the documentary, Phelps-Roper agrees that the $200,000 the church annually spends to fly to funerals to protest was money spent to spread "God's hate".
===Views on homosexuality===
The church is noted for its rampant anti-homosexual rhetoric and [[Gay Bashing|gay bashing]] and runs numerous web sites such as GodHatesFags.com, GodHatesAmerica.com, and others expressing condemnation of homosexuality.<ref name = WBC></ref>

The group bases its work on the belief expressed by its best known slogan and the address of its primary web site, God Hates Fags, asserting that every tragedy in the world is linked to homosexuality—specifically society's increasing tolerance and acceptance of the so-called [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homosexual_agenda homosexual agenda]. The group maintains that God hates those who engage in homosexual activity above all other kinds of "sinners" and that homosexuality should be a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capital_punishment capital crime].

Their views on homosexuality are partially based on teachings found in the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Testament Old Testament], specifically [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leviticus Leviticus] 18:22 and 20:13, which they interpret to mean that homosexual behavior is detestable, and that homosexuals should be put to death.
===Views on abortion===
The Westboro Baptist Church believes that abortion should be illegal when the woman's life is at stake. They believe that anyone who performs abortions or seeks out abortions should receive the death penalty.

Ironically, while they routinely refer to pro-choice people as "baby-killers" and protest anyone they consider to be "pro-abortion", they frequently celebrate the death of babies and children.

===Views on religions===
====Catholicism====
Westboro Baptist refers to Catholic priests as "[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vampire vampires]" and "[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dracula Draculas]" and talks of Catholic priests sucking semen out of male children's genitals like vampires suck blood from their victims. In addition, WBC calls [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Benedict_XVI Pope Benedict XVI] such [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epithet epithets] as "The Godfather of [[Pedophilia|Pedophiles]]" and "Pervert Pope". In April 2008 the WBC protested Pope Benedict XVI during a papal visit in New York City.<ref name = Chronicle>[https://www.chronicle.com/article/a-friendly-welcome-to-a-hate-filled-church/ A Friendly Welcome to a Hate-Filled Church], ''The Chronicle of Higher Education''</ref>

The WBC launched a website called Priests Rape Boys in which they criticize the Roman Catholic Church because of the [[Catholic church sexual abuse scandals]], saying, "Every time any person gives any amount of money to the Catholic Church, that person is paying the salary of pedophile rapists."

The WBC describes the Roman Catholic Church as "the largest, most well-funded and organized pedophile group in the history of man" and goes on to say that, "There are over 1 billion Catholics in the world—that's one out of every six people alive today—and every single one of them will split Hell wide open when they die—period. And there is nothing they can do about it." The WBC also criticizes Catholicism, as it does [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_Orthodox_Church Eastern Orthodoxy], for [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veneration venerating] the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virgin_Mary Virgin Mary], the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saints Saints], [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Relics relics], and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Icons icons]; they accuse the Catholic Church of committing [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idolatry idolatry].

====Protestantism====
Though the main purpose of the Priests Rape Boys website is to criticize Catholicism, the WBC also criticizes several mainline Protestant churches on the website, including [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methodists Methodists], [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presbyterians Presbyterians], [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lutherans Lutherans], [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anglicans Anglicans], and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baptists Baptists]. The WBC states that
...their preachers have shirked their responsibility to tell people the truth about sin, and instead lie to them about what the Lord their God doth require of them. If these lying, false prophets told people the truth about what God says regarding those who suffer sin upon their neighbor (Lev. 19:17–18), there wouldn't be any butts in the seats when the plate got passed. These preachers are not preachers of righteousness, they are teachers having [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Itching_ears itching ears] (2Tim 4:3), and they absolutely count on the abysmal bible illiteracy of their parishioners ... "Priests rape boys" is indeed an air-tight, three word case against all of the mainline "christian" churches – their preachers and members, without exception. They are all going to Hell!"

The WBC claims that [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orthodox_Christians Orthodox Christians] are indistinguishable from Roman Catholics. The WBC criticizes the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_Orthodox_Church Eastern Orthodox Church]'s use of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_Orthodox_icons icons], claiming that they constitute [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idolatry idolatry]. The WBC also criticizes veneration of the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virgin_Mary Virgin Mary], the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theotokos Theotokos], saying, "There is no scripture that supports bowing down to kiss images ... or praying to Mary! She was a human being, who God predestinated to bring forth the Lord Jesus Christ, and to raise him."
====Islam====
The WBC are staunchly [[Islamophobia|Islamophobic]] and support the practice of [[Quran Burning]].<ref>[https://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Society/2010/0910/Florida-church-may-not-burn-Qurans-but-Kansas-church-says-it-will Florida church may not burn Qurans, but Kansas church says it will], ''The Christian Science Monitor''</ref> In response to a ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newsweek Newsweek]'' article alleging that American soldiers flushed copies of the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qur%27an Qur'an] down the toilet at [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camp_X-Ray Camp X-Ray] in [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guantanamo_Bay_detainment_camp Guantanamo Bay], Fred Phelps released this statement: 
So what if our guys flushed copies of the Quran down the toilet? We hope they did. They probably did; We hope they flush more. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohammed Mohammed] was a demon-possessed whoremonger and pedophile who contrived a 300-page work of Satanic fiction: The Quran! Like America's own whoremonger and pedophile wangled his own hokey [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_Mormon Book of Mormon]!In relation to the [[Iraq War]], a WBC flyer says "America bombed our church with an IED made by fag students... In His retaliatory rage God is killing Americans with Muslim IEDs: 'Saying, Touch not my anointed, and do my prophets no harm.' 1 Chron 16:22."

In the 2011 documentary ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/America%27s_Most_Hated_Family_in_Crisis America's Most Hated Family in Crisis]'' by [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Theroux Louis Theroux], Jael Phelps explained in an interview that herself and the other members of the WBC tauntingly and publicly [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quran_desecration burned] a copy of the Quran while being scolded by a Muslim man, calling it an "idolatrous piece of trash" and that they were giving it the "proper respect that it deserves" by doing so. They picketed the funeral of the Muslim man's wife the following week. Jael Phelps stated that the wife's death was partly due to her Muslim husband having spoken out against the WBC, and therefore rejecting God and bringing His "righteous judgement" down upon him. She also commented that "all those angry little Muslims can just shut their mouths."

Ironically, despite their Islamophobia, WBC have shown support for the [[September 11 attacks]] as well as [[Saddam Hussein]]'s government during his rule of Iraq.
====Hinduism====
The WBC maintains a ''God Hates India'' webpage where they state "80% of India's population claim to practice [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hinduism Hinduism]. Nuff said. A country full of idolatry inevitably results in a nation full of fags and fag-enablers, because that's what happens when you depart from the Living God!"

The WBC then admonishes Hindus to convert to Christianity saying: "If you would STOP worshipping false gods, being a fag would not be a complex matter. Stop going a whoring after other gods and start serving the Living God in truth!"
====Judaism====
The WBC is also very [[Anti-Semitism|anti-semitic]].<ref>[https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2009/06/19/rabidly-anti-gay-westboro-baptist-church-now-targeting-jews Rabidly Anti-Gay Westboro Baptist Church Now Targeting Jews], ''SPLC Hatewatch''</ref> In the section about Jews, the WBC FAQ states:
The only true Jews are Christians. The rest of the people who claim to be Jews aren't, and they are nothing more than typical, impenitent sinners ... the vast majority of Jews support fags. In fact, it is the official policy of Reformed Jews to support same-sex marriage. Of course, there are Jews who still believe God's law, but most of them have even departed from that. It doesn't matter if you're a Jew or a Gentile...as long as you believe in Christ.<span style="font-size:11px;line-height:0px;"> </span>In 1996, Phelps began a campaign called "Topeka's Baptist Holocaust", whereby he attempted to draw attention to attacks perpetrated against WBC picketers, saying that they were not random but organized attacks orchestrated by Jews and homosexuals. Phelps announced, "Jews killed Christ", and "Fag Jew Nazis are worse than ordinary Nazis. They've had more experience. The First Holocaust was a Jewish Holocaust against Christians. The latest Holocaust is by Topeka Jews against Westboro Baptist Church."

In another statement, he said "Topeka Jews today stir up Kansas tyrants in persecuting Westboro Baptists. They whine about the Nazi Holocaust, while they perpetrate the Topeka Holocaust."

A March 25, 2006 flier regarding a Jewish adversary of Phelps uses the phrase "bloody Jew" four times and the phrase "evil Jew" more than once every 12 sentences. The [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-Defamation_League Anti-Defamation League] has criticized the church and Phelps, and keeps a sampling of WBC's fliers regarding Judaism on their website.

The WBC has described the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holocaust Holocaust] as God's punishment on Jews.
===Views on race and nationality===
Founder Fred Phelps is a veteran of the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African-American_Civil_Rights_Movement_%281955%E2%80%931968%29 Civil Rights movement] in the 1960s. The Church's disapproval of racism and the use of physical violence by groups such as [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neo-Nazism neo-Nazis] and the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ku_Klux_Klan KKK] is stated on its website. According to the site's FAQ page, "we don't believe in physical violence of any kind, and the Scripture doesn't support racism. ... The only true Nazis in this world are fags."

The Church has previously condemned particular nations, such as Italy, which it described as a nation of "mobster-breeding perverts" and Australia, which it describes as the "land of the sodomite damned".<ref>[https://goodfaithmedia.org/westboro-baptist-fires-prove-god-hates-australians-cms-13716/ Westboro Baptist: Fires Prove God Hates Australians], ''Good Faith Media''</ref>
===Views on Barack Obama===
The Westboro Baptist Church believes that [http://real-life-heroes-and-good-guys.wikia.com/wiki/Barack_Obama Barack Obama] is the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antichrist Antichrist]<ref name = AC></ref> and that he forms an unholy trinity with [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satan Satan] and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Benedict_XVI Pope Benedict XVI], whom they believe is the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/False_Prophet False Prophet].

Margie Phelps, daughter of pastor Fred Phelps and attorney for WBC, said in an interview with [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fox_News_Channel Fox News] that Obama is "absolutely" going to Hell and that he is "most likely the Beast spoken of in the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_Revelation Revelation]". She also said Obama's presidency is a sign of the Apocalypse.