Granddaughters of Westboro Baptist Church Founder: 'We Hurt A Lot of People'
The granddaughters of Westboro Baptist Church founder Fred Phelps has said in a recent interview that after leaving the controversial church a year ago, they have come to realize that although their former congregation's actions were done with good intentions, ultimately Westboro "hurt so many people."
"The thing is, they are trying to do what they believe is right," Megan Phelps-Roper, the granddaughter of Westboro founder Fred Phelps, said in a recent exclusive interview with Canadian media outlet The Globe and Mail. "We were taught that everyone outside the church wasn't trying to do good. We know that they hurt so many people, and we see that now, but the majority of them are doing it from good intentions."
"Even though we intended to do good [with the picketing], we hurt a lot of people," Megan added.
Get Our Latest News for FREE
Megan and her sister, Grace, chose to leave the Westboro Baptist Church last year after deciding their beliefs did not fall in line with the strict teachings of the congregation. The church has gained a reputation as being extremely controversial for protesting the funerals of fallen military soldiers, gay people and celebrities. The two granddaughters tell The Globe and Mail that the attitude at their former congregation was very "all-or-nothing," and therefore when they left the church they also had to sever with all of its members, including their family.
"The way the church presents it is, there's the WBC and the rest of the world. And the rest of the world is evil. The WBC is the only place in the world in our generation that is telling the truth of God. Over time, those little things built up, and there were so many of them. Once you step out of it for a second, and you're out of that vacuum, things change," Megan said.
The two young women now travel North America, exploring communities where they previously preached with Westboro. They are currently in Montreal, Canada where they are being sponsored by a local Jewish group and are speaking in religious studies classes at the local university of their past experiences.
The granddaughters have previously spoken out against their grandfather's group since they left the congregation in November 2012. In March 2013, Grace told The Daily Beast that she and her sister were excited to leave the congregation and embark on a new spiritual journey to discover different belief systems in the U.S.
"I'm looking forward to hearing other people's opinions and learning," Grace said in March, when the two prepared to attend a festival for the Jewish blog, Jewlicious. "I think it's so crazy how everyone believes that their way is the right way and that their religion is right. And everyone thinks that. There's so many different ways of looking at things. And when you listen to why people believe what they do and they explain it, it makes sense [...] I've been so impressed with the people we've met since we left and become friends with who are honestly seeking God and truth."
In 2012, U.S. President Barack Obama signed the Honoring America's Veterans and Caring for Camp Lejeune Families Act, a law which, among other things, tightens restrictions against protesting the funerals of military service members, a common practice of Westboro protesters. The law states that protesters at such funerals must remain 300 feet away from the proceedings and must not protest two hours before or after the funeral.
Last week, thousands of citizens in Corvallis, Oregon rallied to stop Westboro protesters from attending the funeral of a fallen Army Ranger soldier who was killed recently in Afghanistan. Over 2,500 participants showed up to the funeral ready to block any protesters that arrived from getting anywhere near the funeral.
