Synopsis:
Louis struggles to come to terms with the infamous family who picket the funerals of soldiers in protest against an America that tolerates homosexuality. Their actions are in the name of the Westboro Baptist Church, which numbers 71 and is headed by "Gramps", preacher Fred Phelps. The church, which is based in Topeka, Kansas, mostly comprises his extended family.
According to the BBC Louis Theroux, himself no stranger to people with unconventional views, says the Phelpses are the most extreme people he has ever met.
At the heart of this documentary is the Westboro Baptist Church (WBC), a U.S. church group headed by Fred Phelps based in Topeka, Kansas. It runs the website GodHatesFags.com, and GodHatesAmerica.com, and other websites expressing condemnation of homosexuals, Roman Catholics, Muslims, Jews, Sweden, Canada, and other groups. The organization is monitored by the Anti-Defamation League, and classified as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center.The group has achieved national notoriety in recent years due to its picketing of funeral processions for soldiers killed in combat, which functions as an extension of the Phelps' anti-United States beliefs.
The church bases its work around the belief expressed by its best known slogan and the address of its primary website, "God hates fags", and expresses the opinion, based on its Biblical eisegesis, that nearly every tragedy in the world is linked to homosexuality – specifically society's increasing tolerance and acceptance of gay, lesbian, and bisexual people. It maintains that God hates homosexuals above all other kinds of "sinners" and that homosexuality should be a capital crime.
Synopsis:
Louis struggles to come to terms with the infamous family who picket the funerals of soldiers in protest against an America that tolerates homosexuality. Their actions are in the name of the Westboro Baptist Church, which numbers 71 and is headed by "Gramps", preacher Fred Phelps. The church, which is based in Topeka, Kansas, mostly comprises his extended family.
According to the BBC Louis Theroux, himself no stranger to people with unconventional views, says the Phelpses are the most extreme people he has ever met.
At the heart of this documentary is the Westboro Baptist Church (WBC), a U.S. church group headed by Fred Phelps based in Topeka, Kansas. It runs the website GodHatesFags.com, and GodHatesAmerica.com, and other websites expressing condemnation of homosexuals, Roman Catholics, Muslims, Jews, Sweden, Canada, and other groups. The organization is monitored by the Anti-Defamation League, and classified as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center.The group has achieved national notoriety in recent years due to its picketing of funeral processions for soldiers killed in combat, which functions as an extension of the Phelps' anti-United States beliefs.
The church bases its work around the belief expressed by its best known slogan and the address of its primary website, "God hates fags", and expresses the opinion, based on its Biblical eisegesis, that nearly every tragedy in the world is linked to homosexuality – specifically society's increasing tolerance and acceptance of gay, lesbian, and bisexual people. It maintains that God hates homosexuals above all other kinds of "sinners" and that homosexuality should be a capital crime.