Fred Phelps

Fred Phelps
Phelps in 2002
Born
Fred Waldron Phelps

(1929-11-13)November 13, 1929[1][2]
Meridian, Mississippi, U.S.[2]
DiedMarch 19, 2014(2014-03-19) (aged 84)[2]
Topeka, Kansas, U.S.
Education
Occupation(s)Pastor, lawyer[2]
OrganizationWestboro Baptist Church
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse
Margie Marie Simms
​
(m. 1952)​
Children13, including
Shirley Phelps-Roper and
Nathan Phelps
RelativesMegan Phelps-Roper (granddaughter)

Fred Waldron Phelps Sr. (November 13, 1929 – March 19, 2014) was an American minister and disbarred lawyer who served as the pastor of the Westboro Baptist Church, worked as a civil rights attorney, and ran for statewide election in Kansas. A divisive and controversial figure, he gained national attention for his homophobic views and protests near the funerals of gay people, AIDS victims, military veterans, and disaster victims who he believed were killed as a result of God punishing the U.S. for having "bankrupt values" and tolerating homosexuality. Phelps founded the Westboro Baptist Church, a Topeka, Kansas-based independent Primitive Baptist congregation, in 1955. It has been described by the Southern Poverty Law Center as "arguably the most obnoxious and rabid hate group in America".[3] Its signature slogan, "God Hates Fags", remains the name of the group's principal website.

In addition to funerals, Phelps and his followers—mostly his own immediate family members—picketed gay pride gatherings, high-profile political events, university commencement ceremonies, live performances of The Laramie Project, and functions sponsored by mainstream Christian groups with which he had no affiliation, arguing it was their sacred duty to warn others of God's anger. He continued doing so in the face of numerous legal challenges—some of which reached the U.S. Supreme Court—and near-universal opposition and contempt from other religious groups and the general public.[4] Laws enacted at both the federal[5][6][7] and state[8] levels for the specific purpose of curtailing his disruptive activities were limited in their effectiveness due to the Constitutional protections afforded to Phelps under the First Amendment.

Gay rights supporters denounced him as a producer of anti-gay propaganda and violence-inspiring hate speech, and even Christians from fundamentalist denominations distanced themselves from him.[9] In particular, Phelps and his church routinely targeted the Catholic Church with picket signs and online websites claiming that "priests rape boys" and "fag priests" and focusing on the Catholic Church sex scandals, calling the pope "The Godfather of pedophiles".[10][11][12] Although Phelps died in 2014, the Westboro Baptist Church remains in operation. It continues to conduct regular demonstrations outside movie theaters, universities, government buildings, and other facilities in Topeka and elsewhere, and is still characterized as a hate group by the Anti-Defamation League and the Southern Poverty Law Center.[13][14]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference cjonline1994 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ a b c d e "Fred Phelps Sr., founder of Westboro Baptist Church, dies at 84". Wichita Eagle. March 20, 2014. Retrieved July 6, 2024.
  3. ^ Phelps: No funeral for the preacher who picketed so many. Christian Science Monitor (March 20, 2014), retrieved September 27, 2016.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference abrams2006 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Pickler, Nedra (May 30, 2006), "Bush Says U.S. Must Honor War Dead", The Washington Post, The Associated Press, retrieved December 10, 2012
  6. ^ Honoring America's Veterans and Caring for Camp Lejeune Families Act of 2012 Archived February 14, 2013, at the Wayback Machine, U.S. House of Representatives (accessed February 21, 2013)
  7. ^ Wing, Nick (August 6, 2012). "Honoring America's Veterans Act Signed By Obama, Restricting Westboro Military Funeral Protests". The Huffington Post. Retrieved January 16, 2013.
  8. ^ Carpenter, Tim (March 20, 2007), "Panel Sets Buffer Zone", The Topeka Capital-Journal, archived from the original on March 18, 2014, retrieved December 10, 2012
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference lauerman1999 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ Barrett-Fox, Rebecca (January 29, 2017). "A Friendly Welcome to a Hate-Filled Church". The Chronicle of Higher Education. Retrieved February 10, 2024.
  11. ^ "Westboro Baptist Church Preaching Signs". Westboro Baptist Church Home Page. July 8, 2018. Retrieved February 10, 2024.
  12. ^ Drehle, David Von (March 20, 2014). "Good Riddance, Fred Phelps". TIME. Retrieved February 10, 2024.
  13. ^ Anti-Defamation League, Westboro Baptist Church, archived from the original on March 8, 2007, retrieved December 10, 2012
  14. ^ Potok, Mark (2006), "Hate Groups Increase Numbers, Unite Against Immigrants", Intelligence Report (121), Southern Poverty Law Center