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While the name implies that the church is affiliated with other mainstream [[Baptist]] churches, the WBC is independent of mainstream Christianity. The church's members are almost entirely family members and are infamous for their protests and pickets at the funerals of soldiers who died in the line of duty, where they take the opportunity to denounce what they consider to be [[America]]'s acceptance of homosexuality. The name of their website reflects this. Their antics are denounced across almost all spectra of political and religious thought.
While the name implies that the church is affiliated with other mainstream [[Baptist]] churches, the WBC is independent of mainstream Christianity. The church's members are almost entirely family members and are infamous for their protests and pickets at the funerals of soldiers who died in the line of duty, where they take the opportunity to denounce what they consider to be [[America]]'s acceptance of homosexuality. The name of their website reflects this. Their antics are denounced across almost all spectra of political and religious thought.
Their hatred, and seeking of publicity, goes beyond homosexuality. They also protested the [[Pope]]'s visit, calling him the [[anti-Christ]].<ref>http://www.adl.org/special_reports/wbc/default.asp</ref>
Their hatred, and seeking of publicity, goes beyond homosexuality. They also protested the [[Pope]]'s visit, calling him the [[anti-Christ]].
==Composition==
==Composition==
==Family Law Firm==
==Family Law Firm==
Fred Phelps designed his church/family as a giant law firm used to sue those angry enough to retaliate against the "church". Eleven of Phelps' thirteen children have law degrees, and work for the Phelps Chartered Law Firm which Fred Phelps founded in 1964.<ref name=spc />
Fred Phelps designed his church/family as a giant law firm used to sue those angry enough to retaliate against the "church". Eleven of Phelps' thirteen children have law degrees, and work for the Phelps Chartered Law Firm which Fred Phelps founded in 1964.<ref name=spc />
{{cquote|"'They have a very well-respected law firm in Topeka,' Sherman says. 'People in town said, 'Well, we don't like them, but if we want to win a case, we'll go to them.'' Church spokeswoman Phelps-Roper says their booming employment and family law practice pays the bills for their travels across the country, when they shout their anti-gay message. They travel in vans to keep down the costs, which she says can add up to $200,000 a year... The protests are in themselves a source of some income, according to Potok. Over the years the Phelpses have filed lawsuits against communities that try to stop them from demonstrating. 'And as a general matter they have won,' he says. 'They know their First Amendment rights very well, and they've been very good at defending them.' When they win, they often receive tens of thousands of dollars in court fees. And their winning streak is likely to continue, now that the Supreme Court has decided that Westboro's right to free speech trumps the right of families to bury their loved ones undisturbed."
-Barbara Bradley Hagerty, ''NPR''<ref name=npr />}}
==Protests==
Westboro has protested or otherwise targeted the following:
* Homosexuals, including [[Matthew Shepard]].<ref name=npr />
* The Catholic [[Pope]].<ref>http://www.adl.org/special_reports/wbc/default.asp</ref>
==Snyder v. Phelps==
==Snyder v. Phelps==