“Unfollow” Reveals A Deep Truth About Religion
Megan Phelps-Roper’s memoir is essential reading
Since 2013 I’ve been a volunteer organizer for Recovering from Religion, a support group for people who have left or are thinking about leaving their churches. I’ve listened to dozens of people tell me about their spiritual and philosophical journeys. So when I heard that Megan Phelps-Roper had written a memoir about her life in the Westboro Baptist Church and her decision to leave, I knew I had to read it.
Most Americans have probably already heard something of the WBC. They became notorious for protesting the funerals of Iraq War veterans, and later the victims of mass shootings like the one at Sandy Hook. They believed that dead soldiers and dead children were evidence that God had doomed America for its acceptance of homosexuality.
What many people might not know about Fred Phelps is that for many years before he turned his ire on LGBT people, he was a lawyer and champion of civil rights for African-Americans. He was recognized by the NAACP for his work representing black clients in discrimination lawsuits that few if any white attorneys would touch. But for this, he had already become persona non grata to many white Topekans even before he gained notoriety for his church’s activities.
