Westboro Baptist Church: Difference between revisions

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{{Quote|I think that the pastor [Fred Phelps] is not a very nice person. I think he's an angry person who's twisted the Bible and picked and chosen verses that support his anger, that sort of justify his anger, and he's instilled that in his children and they've passed it on to their children. Although the second and third generation are by and large quite nice people from what I saw, they still live under the influence of their Gramps.|Louis Theroux}}

The '''Westboro Baptist Church''' ('''WBC''') ~~are~~ self-proclaimed "Christians" unaffiliated Baptist church known for its extreme ideologies, particularly its [[homophobia]]. The church is widely described as a [[Hate Groups|hate group]] and is monitored as such by the Anti-Defamation League and Southern Poverty Law Center. Founded by since-excommunicated pastor [[Fred Phelps]], ~~the~~ church consists primarily of members of his large family; in 2011, the church stated that it had about 40 members. The church is headquartered in a residential neighborhood on the west side of Topeka about three miles (5 km) west of the Kansas State Capitol. Its first public service was held on the afternoon of November 27, 1955.

The '''Westboro Baptist Church''' ('''WBC''') consists of self-proclaimed "Christians". It is an unaffiliated Baptist church known for its extreme ideologies, particularly its [[homophobia]] (among many others). The church is widely described as a [[Hate Groups|hate group]] and is monitored as such by the Anti-Defamation League and Southern Poverty Law Center. Founded by since-excommunicated pastor [[Fred Phelps]], the church consists primarily of members of his large family; in 2011, the church stated that it had about 40 members. The church is headquartered in a residential neighborhood on the west side of Topeka about three miles (5 km) west of the Kansas State Capitol. Its first public service was held on the afternoon of November 27, 1955.

The church has been involved in actions against gay people since at least 1991, when it sought a crackdown on homosexual activity at Gage Park six blocks northwest of the church. In addition to conducting anti-gay protests at military funerals, the organization pickets other celebrity funerals and public events that are likely to get it media attention. Protests have also been held against Jews and some protests have included WBC members stomping on the American flag.

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 {{Quote|GOD HATES FAGS!|The WBC's infamous slogan.}}
 {{Quote|I think that the pastor [Fred Phelps] is not a very nice person. I think he's an angry person who's twisted the Bible and picked and chosen verses that support his anger, that sort of justify his anger, and he's instilled that in his children and they've passed it on to their children. Although the second and third generation are by and large quite nice people from what I saw, they still live under the influence of their Gramps.|Louis Theroux}}
-The '''Westboro Baptist Church''' ('''WBC''') are self-proclaimed "Christians" unaffiliated Baptist church known for its extreme ideologies, particularly its [[homophobia]]. The church is widely described as a [[Hate Groups|hate group]] and is monitored as such by the Anti-Defamation League and Southern Poverty Law Center. Founded by since-excommunicated pastor [[Fred Phelps]], the church consists primarily of members of his large family; in 2011, the church stated that it had about 40 members. The church is headquartered in a residential neighborhood on the west side of Topeka about three miles (5 km) west of the Kansas State Capitol. Its first public service was held on the afternoon of November 27, 1955.
+The '''Westboro Baptist Church''' ('''WBC''') consists of self-proclaimed "Christians". It is an unaffiliated Baptist church known for its extreme ideologies, particularly its [[homophobia]] (among many others). The church is widely described as a [[Hate Groups|hate group]] and is monitored as such by the Anti-Defamation League and Southern Poverty Law Center. Founded by since-excommunicated pastor [[Fred Phelps]], the church consists primarily of members of his large family; in 2011, the church stated that it had about 40 members. The church is headquartered in a residential neighborhood on the west side of Topeka about three miles (5 km) west of the Kansas State Capitol. Its first public service was held on the afternoon of November 27, 1955.
 The church has been involved in actions against gay people since at least 1991, when it sought a crackdown on homosexual activity at Gage Park six blocks northwest of the church. In addition to conducting anti-gay protests at military funerals, the organization pickets other celebrity funerals and public events that are likely to get it media attention. Protests have also been held against Jews and some protests have included WBC members stomping on the American flag.