Best Sources for Understanding Rev. Fred Phelps and the Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kansas

May 8, 2009 Update: New information added about website of Nate Phelps, who left the family years ago and became an atheist.

There is a massive amount of information about Fred Phelps, the Westboro Baptist Church and their "God Hates Fags" campaign. But most of it for the journalist, scholar or even someone who has run across this phenomenon for the first time, is like the hidden 9/10ths of the iceberg that sank the Titanic. It's best to stay away from it.

I have spent hours searching for, reading and viewing information on Fred Phelps, his children, and the Westboro Baptist Church in order to present what I believe is the most useful information about them.

Rather than divide this bibliography up in the usual manner, separating sources by genre--books, articles, videos, etc.--I have listed them in the order which I feel would be the most useful for people to acquaint themselves with Fred Phelps, the Westboro Baptist Church and the "God Hates Fags" campaign.

Please note also that this is an ongoing project. I will be revising and adding to this bibliography as time goes on, so check back every few months. If you have resources that you feel should be added to this bibliography, or corrections to it, please contact me through this site or leave a comment at the end of this article.

By clicking on the highlighted links, you can go directly to the sources I have listed here.¹

Westboro Baptist Website www.godhatesfags.com.

The starting point for all research into the Fred Phelps' family and Westboro Baptist Church is Phelps' own website. Here you can listen to some of his sermons, watch some of his short movies, check up on the Westboro Baptist's picketing schedule, read blogs and more.

While there are many other websites run by Fred Phelps, his family and members of the Westboro Baptist Church, such as www.americaisdoomed.com and www.godhatestheworld.com, this is the seminal site and all of the others can be reached from this one. Please note that sometimes when you go to www.godhatesfags.com, you will get a "broken link" error message. When that happens click on the "view cached copy" link, and you will be taken to the site.

Addicted To Hate. The Fred Phelps Story. Jon Michael Bell with Joe Taschler and Steven Fry. June 29, 1994. 214 page .pdf file.

Based in part on interviews with Fred Phelps' estranged sons, Addicted To Hate is an absolute must read for anyone interested in the Phelps family. They discuss growing up in the Phelps family and the abuse they suffered at the hands of their father.

Hate for the love of God. August 3, 1994.

Hate for the love of God is an in-depth look at Fred Phelps and family by the Topeka Capital-Journal. The material was released shortly after Addicted to Hate and is similar.

For the story behind the story of Addicted to Hate and Hate for the love of God and the dispute between Jon Bell and the Topeka Capital-Journal see Twisted in Topeka: an investigation of a preacher raises holy hell. By Gremillion, Jeff . which originally appeared in the Columbia Journalism Review on September 1, 1994.

The Most Hated Family In America. A documentary by Louis Theroux. April 1, 2007. 60 minutes. Made for TV by the BBC.

In The Most Hated Family in America, Louis Theroux attempts to be as fair as a filmmaker can be who disagrees with what he is filming. If you can only watch one video about the Phelps and Westboro Baptist Church, I recommend this one or Fall From Grace (see below).

This film focuses mostly on Fred Phelps' outspoken daughter, Shirley Phelps-Roper; his granddaughter, Jael Phelps; and Westboro Baptist Church member, Steve Drain. Fred Phelps does not allow Theroux to get too close to him.

The posting of this video on youtube might be illegal so the above link might not work at some future date. The man who posted it seems almost as unhinged as Fred Phelps. You can read more about this documentary on the Internet Movie Database. It has apparently not been released yet on DVD.

Fall From Grace. Documentary Film by K. Ryan Jones. (2007) 71 minutes

This is a tremendous documentary considering the filmmaker was a college student. In fact, after watching it, you might conclude that it is better than The Most Hated Family In America.

Like Theroux, Jones tries to be balanced in this documentary. Fall From Grace also covers much of the same ground as The Most Hated Family In America, however, it does one thing that Theroux's video doesn't do. Jones managed to interview two of Fred Phelp's estranged children, Dortha and Nate, both of whom discuss their father's anger and abuse when they were children. In the youtube copy, these interviews appear at the end of part four and beginning of part five. Watch those parts if you can't see the entire video.

Jones' film contains other additional material, including information about Phelps' earlier life and how the picketing movement got started. It also has interviews with some of Phelps' critics in Kansas and comments from homosexuals. While Jones includes other Phelps family members, Fred Phelps, his daughter Shirley Phelps-Roper, and his son Tim Phelps take center stage. Also Jones spends more time with the younger grandchildren, and he also interviews a soldier's widow whose funeral was picketed by the Westboro Baptist Church. Unlike Theroux, Jones rarely injects himself into the movie which allows him to cover more material than Theroux.

More information about Fall From Grace can be found at the movie's website and the Internet Movie Database.

Fred: The Movie aka Hatemongers (2000). Steve Drain.

Steve Drain went to Kansas to make a documentary about the Phelps family and ended up joining the Westboro Baptist Church. The documentary he made is obviously biased, however, it is still worth watching. Because Fred Phelps and his family are being interviewed by a friend, they relax and reveal more of themselves.

Fred: the Movie aka Hatemongers gives us an up close look at Fred Phelps' wife Marjorie and his son, Fred Phelps, Jr., both of whom are virtually invisible in the other documentaries. Of interest also is Fred Phelps' work on behalf of Blacks during the Civil Rights Movement. Some of what Phelps and his children say here is disputed.

This is the only film actually endorsed by the Westboro Baptist Church. Their website states:

"'Hatemongers' is, however, one of the only documentary films that paints the tiny church in its true light, letting the voices of her members speak, without clouding the air with a fag-and-flag-worshipping slanted narration. It is perhaps the only true saga of this tiny New Testament church, her pastor, members and amazing, worldwide ministry."

A small amount of information on Fred: The Movie is available on the Internet Movie Database.

Keith Allen Will Burn In Hell. A documentary film by Keith Allen. 2007 65 minutes.

Made by the father of British singer, Lily Allen, who was targeted by the Westboro Baptist Church on one of their signs, Keith Allen Will Burn In Hell is the least important of all of the documentaries. If you have time to watch it, however, it is interesting, even entertaining. Like Steve Drain's film, it too is biased, but in the opposite direction. In the following descending order, Allen spends time interviewing Shirley Phelps-Roper, Tim Phelps and some of the grandchildren.

More information on this documentary is available at the Internet Movie Database.

Complete Topeka Capitol Journal Coverage of Fred Phelps and Westboro Baptist Church

The Topeka Capitol Journal has covered the Phelps family and Westboro Baptist extensively. The newspaper, however, also initiated a campaign to stop the Phelps family and their actions in Topeka which somewhat undermines their objectivity. Still this is essential reading.

Running From Hell Growing up in America's Most Hated Family. Trevor Melanson. October 31, 2008. Ubyssey. The University of British Columbia Newspaper.

Running From Hell is an interview with Nate Phelps, estranged son of Fred Phelps. Nate is a cab driver in western Canada. On his way to the Cranbrook Airport in BC, Melanson discovers that his driver is Nate Phelps. Nate agrees to be interviewed and discusses his abusive childhood. Some of the material was already covered in Addicted To Hate: The Fred Phelps Story, however, the interview has new information about Nate's life since that time. This includes information about his divorce, move to Canada and conversion to atheism. The interview is especially useful in understanding that Fred Phelps' children are also his victims. It also reveals the ongoing struggle of the estranged children in coming to terms with their father, siblings and religious upbringing. The first person to comment on the article was Nate's sister, Shirley Phelps-Roper, at 4:14a.m. the date the article was published!! Don't miss her comment.

Website of Nate Phelps, Estranged Son, Who Has Become An Atheist

Nate Phelps, who has been estranged from his family and church for decades, has begun to speak out about his family. He spoke recently a convention of atheists. He now has a website and blog.

http://www.natephelps.com/

Primitive Baptist Theology & Fred Phelps.

Many people think that Fred Phelps is a Southern Baptist, but he is not. Phelps is a Primitive Baptist, a small Calvinistic sect. There are many different Primitive Baptist groups in America, but most of them follow the doctrines found on www.pbpage.org. It is beyond the scope of this bibliography to explain Calvinism, but without an understanding of Calvinism, the doctrines of election and predestination, and the Primitive Baptists own interpretation of those doctrines, it is virtually impossible to understand where Fred Phelps is coming from.

Culture Wars and Local Politics. Elaine Sharp, editor. Kansas University Press of Kansas.

Chapter Three by Rick Musser deals with Fred Phelps and the Westboro Baptist Church. You can read chapter three online for free.

This is a scholarly article dealing with dissidents and the way they are handled by governmental bodies. Musser explains clearly where he is going with his article:

"The case study in this chapter examines the relationship between political opportunities and costs for both the Reverend Phelps and his protesters, on the one hand, and the city of Topeka, on the other, and how those shifting opportunities and costs created a dynamic that led the community from a strategy of evasion to one of repression. Information for the case study is derived primarily from analysis of 643 Topeka Capital-Journal articles covering the years 1992 to 1997."

You can read more information about the book and order a copy at Kansas University Press.

Making sense of 'God Hates Fags' and 'Thank God for 9/11': a thematic analysis of milbloggers' responses to Reverend Fred Phelps and the Westboro Baptist Church. Brouwer, Daniel C. ; Hess, Aaron. Western Journal of Communication. January 1, 2007.

Brouwer and Hess examine the Phelps family and their protests by looking at responses to the Phelps from military bloggers. This article is very academic and some of it may only be of interest to scholars interested in communication and rhetoric. The importance of this piece for the non-academician is that it reveals the complexity of the Westboro Baptist protests, a complexity so often missing from efforts to understand the Westboro phenomenon.

Available at http://www.accessmylibrary.com or it can be purchased at http://amazon.com.

1. Associated Content sometimes messes up links. For example, to go to my internet movie database links, you have to click on the word the, even though I linked to the entire phrase. Associated Content creates its own links using key words. For example, I use the theological term election in this article. Associated Content highlighted it and linked it to other articles on political elections.