Westboro Baptist Church
Read MoreIn an age when the mantra of "tolerance" is invoked so often that it has evolved into a kind of secular 11th Commandment, the notion of overt, unapologetic intolerance -- of others' beliefs, behaviors, rituals -- can sometimes feel like the last taboo. But in that strange, charged environment where tolerance and intolerance intersect, a photographer can sometimes find moments of astonishing, unexpected revelation.
It is an environment inhabited -- defiantly, gladly -- by The Westboro Baptist Church.
The profoundly controversial ministry is located in rural Topeka, Kansas, and was founded in 1956 by Pastor Fred Phelps, 81, a former civil rights attorney and a man John F. Kennedy Jr.'s George magazine once included in a list of the "Twenty Most Fascinating Men in Politics." Infamous for the incendiary picket signs members wield at seemingly every high-profile funeral in the United States (God Hates Fags. Thank God for 9/11. Thank God for Dead Soldiers.), the church might well be the most despised congregation in America.
Documenting Westboro in my photographs is, in a sense, a deeply personal endeavor. The controversy surrounding their actions was, in all honesty, random noise to me until the day I found myself inside the Westboro compound in Topeka, at the home of Pastor Phelps' daughter, Shirley. With a shock, I noticed a picket sign praising God's creation of IEDs and (in the Phelps' eyes) their blessed role in the death of Lance Cpl. Matthew A. Snyder, killed in Iraq in 2006. As a proud former Marine, with a son who currently serves, I was stunned by the church's glib celebration of the death of one of my military brothers. At the very same time, I resolved to document the church members and their beliefs -- beliefs so utterly alien to and at odds with my own.
Aside from the questionable scriptural interpretation and faith-based sexual intolerance for which Westboro is so notorious, the project forced me to question my own values and personal credos. Do I, in fact or only in theory, stand for those principles I originally joined the Marines to defend: the ideals of freedom of speech and the right to protest -- even if that protest questions the worth and patriotism of my own son? Would I be able to document these people fairly, or would I subconsciously veer toward portraying them in a wholly negative light? Ultimately, my aim and purpose with this project was not only to put a face on a marginalized and (in large part) reviled religious group, but also to explore as honestly as possible their humanity -- no matter how hateful and abhorrent they might appear to those of us on the outside.
In this photo: Members of Westboro Baptist Church start to arrive for Sunday service. Topeka, Kansas.The actual church is an extension off of Pastor Phelps’s home, which is located in a middle-class Topeka neighborhood. In one house, Phelps raised his family, and eventually the neighbors' houses were purchased, effectively creating a compound.
All the houses share a large fenced backyard, which includes a full-sized pool, basketball and volleyball court.Seven year-old Faith Drain, an aspiring artist and member of the Westboro Baptist Church. Faith’s father, Steve Drain, a 46-year-old marketing consultant, first came to the church in 2000. He was making the documentary film Hatemongers. Steve came to accept the church’s beliefs and moved his family from Florida to just across the street from the church in Topeka.
The eldest of Drain’s four children, Lauren, was voted out of the church and family home by a vote of 21, including her parents, after asking questions about the religious practices that were considered subversive.Attorney Jonathan Phelps of the Phelps Chartered Law Firm displays the letter from the Supreme Court granting a Writ of Certiorari. The case of Albert Snyder, father of Lance Corporal Matthew Snyder, a Marine killed in Iraq, vs. Fred Phelps was later won on appeal in front of the Supreme Court.
The Court ruled in favor of Phelps in an 8-1 decision, holding that their speech was related to a public issue, and was disseminated on a public sidewalk. The case was argued by attorney Margie Phelps.Former member Megan Phelps-Roper, at the time of this photo was a 25-year-old law office secretary and logistics coordinator for the Westboro Baptist Church, picketing on Gage Road in Topeka, KS.
Gage Park was known to some as a “cruising” or meet up location in the gay community back in the late 80’s, early 90’s. The first protest was held blocks from the Phelps home in June 1991 when, according to Pastor Phelps, a homosexual tried to lure his then five-year old grandson into some shrubbery.
The location of the incident was Gage Park, a known meeting place for homosexual activity. The family still protests at this location on a daily basis.Members of the Westboro Baptist Church hold a picket against Jews in the largely Jewish community of Great Neck, NY. They acknowledge needing the press in order to complete their task of effectively preaching the word of the Lord. Some of the signs displayed that day stated that the Jews killed Jesus and Israel has stolen land from the Palestinians.
Members of the Westboro Baptist Church protest the Pope's visit to Yankee Stadium in 2008. Pastor Fred Phelps is the founder of the 80 plus-member Church located in Topeka, Kansas. The WBC is opposed to America’s acceptance of homosexuality and routinely pickets the funerals of U.S. soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Members of the Westboro Baptist Church hold a picket against Jews in the largely Jewish community of Great Neck, NY.
Westboro acknowledges needing the press in order to complete their task of effectively preaching the word of the Lord. Some of the signs displayed that day stated that the Jews killed Jesus and Israel has stolen land from the Palestinians.Once an active member of Westboro Baptist church, 27-year-old Libby Phelps was kicked out of the congregation and family home in 2009. Libby was considered rebellious as she began questioning hypocrisies within the church; such as members being asked to pray in a form similar to Salah (Islamic method of praying) and calling to God for the death of various plaintiffs in the 2011 Snyder vs. Phelps case before the Supreme Court. The final decision was based on an intervention regarding her right to wear a bikini.
The photograph Libby is holding is of her and her sister Sara (on right), who was also asked to leave a few years later for not repenting for her “sins’ in an unrelated incident.