The Westboro Baptist Church, Essay Example

Largely the Westboro Baptist Church has been recognized as a negative influence in regards to its activities and views.  Identified by many as a cult-like church, the Westboro Baptist Church has been seen in the news due to many extreme views, namely towards homosexuals, military personnel, and denominations of Christianity and other religions.  Their extreme views has resulted in laws passed and monitoring by other organizations.

Protest Activities

The Westboro Baptist Church is largely known for their active protests at public events.  According to the Westboro Baptist Church, they have been in more than 43,000 protests in over 750 cities since 1991, as of April of 2010 (Westboro Baptist Church).  This activity has been the source of many of its dealings with governments, organizations, and otherwise.

The prominence of the protests of the Westboro Baptist Church can also be seen on a financial level.  According to the church, there is about $250,000 spent on expenses related to protests, including air fares and other expenses (Borger).  Reportedly these expenses are paid for by the Phelps family who started the Westboro Baptist Church.

Military Personnel

One central focus of protests in is regards to military personnel.  The Westboro Baptist Church has been active in many such protests, displaying signs condemning those who are involved in the military.  Military pickets have seen many members of the Westboro Baptist Church engaged in such events.

Most such protests are involved in the funerals of military personnel.  There have been a number of signs displayed to condemn the service of military personnel, expressing the thankfulness to God of the member’s death, or directly condemning his or her commitment in the military.

As a result, the Westboro Baptist Church has suffered much retaliation from individuals, organizations, and even governments.  The church has lost a number of lawsuits related to their activity in such protests.  There have been a number of awards against the Westboro Baptist Church that have resulted in large sums of money, relating to charges of disorderly conduct, trespassing, and illegal forms of protests.

Homosexual Individuals

Perhaps most seen is the Westboro Baptist Church’s pickets against individuals and other groups who are gay or supportive of gays.  This has been perhaps the most prominent association of the Westboro Baptist Church, in regards to their activities of protest.  This along with military personnel protests has been another primary focus for a number of controversies for the Westboro Baptist Church.

The practice of protesting gay individuals began in 1998 (Borger).  There the leader of the Westboro Baptist Church, Mr. Phelps, protested the funeral of an individual in Wyoming who was gay and beaten to death, Matthew Shepard.  This marked the first instance of such protests from the church.

Most pickets for gay individuals and group take on an explicit nature.  Members hold signs condemning gay individuals in a number of ways, all of which are certainly not respectable, to say the least.  These practices have seen the Westboro Baptist Church as involved in a number of controversies, which have sparked public outrage, legal battles, and counter-protests.

The Westboro Baptist Church has also protested groups that are seen to be supportive of gays.  This has even led to the church protesting the action of governments, such as Sweden when it prosecuted a pastor who criticized homosexuality.  This has also gained controversy for the church.

Views on Church – Role in Christian and Religious World

Most religious groups have been targeted by the Westboro Baptist Church.  The church has gone as far as to equivocate membership in a number of churches to that of devil worship.  These churches can be generalized to all churches that do not strongly condemn homosexuality, as this is a central focus for the church.

Religions

Westboro Baptist Church adamantly condemns a number of religions.  Condemnation has extended to public outcries looking to undermine the status of the particular church or religion.  As in cases of the Westboro Baptist Church’s activities, this too has resulted in a number of controversies.

The Westboro Baptist Church has been particularly hostile towards the Roman Catholic Church.  It has claimed the church as a “fag church,” which is often used to typify the church’s views, as well as used in relationship to homosexual individuals.  The Westboro Baptist Church has attacked the Roman Catholic Church in regards to the controversies regarding Catholic priests and children.

The Westboro Baptist Church has also condemned other religions, notably Islam, Hinduism, and Judaism.  The church has claimed that Islam  is involved in a kind of Satanic fiction, in relationship to the Qur’an which the church has openly attacked.  Hinduism and Judaism have been condemned in relationship to homosexuality, attacked as nations and religions with “fags,” as the church often likes to use as a negative term.

Place in Religious World

The dangerous views of the Westboro Baptist Church have been noticed throughout the religious world and beyond.  Most churches and subjects of the assault disregard the Westboro Baptist Church as “cult-like” in relationship to their extreme practices and views.  Consequently, the Westboro Baptist Church is more well known for their disrespectful activities and extreme views, rather for their contributions to Christianity, which are certainly not respected.

As a result the Westboro Baptist Church is monitored by organizations.  Notably it is monitored by the Anti-Defamation League, along with others such as Nazis, the Ku Klux Klan, and other extremist groups (Anti-Defamation League).  According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, the Westboro Baptist Church is considered as a hate group (Potok).  These associations account for the extremist views and actions from the Westboro Baptist Church.

Conclusion

Certainly the Westboro Baptist Church has occupied an extremist and cult-like place in religion and society.  Their consistent actions in regards to military personnel, homosexuals, and a number of organizations, churches, and religions have resulted in their disregard as a legitimate church of any kind.  For most individuals and organizations, they are more of a distraction than a group within Christianity.  As a result, the place of the Westboro Baptist Church is likely to be found in legal battles and controversies than being accepted in any regards to Christian thought.

Works Cited

Anti-Defamation League. Westboro Baptist Church. Anti-Defamation League. N.D. Web. April 28, 2010.

Borger, Julian. Anti-gay church hounds military funerals. The Guardian. April 18, 2006. Web. April 28, 2010.

Potok, Mark. The Year in Hate, 2005. Southern Poverty Law Center. N.D. Web. April 28, 2010.

Westboro Baptist Church. Locations of Westboro Baptist Church Pickets. Westboro Baptist Church. N.D. Web. April 28, 2010.