This past week has resulted in much contemplation with
regard to the Westboro Baptist Church (WBC). I am going to refer to them as a
church because that is what they claim to be—I believe they are a cult but I
can hardly make a strong case for that argument in 300 words given everything
else I want to discuss. The beliefs of WBC, according to its members, hold that
homosexuals and people who don’t believe in God (the God that WBC members
believe in) are going to hell, and that God hates America because of America’s
treatment of homosexuality. These beliefs about people of particular
sexualities and religions (or religious beliefs) are learned from early
childhood as exemplified in part one of the documentary we watched in class. I
think the reason why WBC members hold their beliefs so strongly can be
explained via enculturation. WBC members live and interact with each other on a
daily basis; the home life of each member consists only of social interactions
with other members. I wonder if WBC members would remain so immersed within
their belief system if they—especially those between the ages of 10 and 18
because I think this is largely when people begin to think for themselves as to
what they should believe independent of what their parents believe—had a home
life fully removed from the church.
The extent to which WBC members’ belonging to their church
affects their behavior is demonstrated every time they protest via picket
signs. I actually think that belonging to WBC requires certain behavior—the church
seems to exert some control (implicitly, not through use of force) over its
members. I am skeptical of the beliefs of the members of WBC. They claim to be
spreading a message to try and warn the rest of the world about God’s hatred of
America and of homosexuals and yet when pressed they tend to answer with
contradictions. Why warn the world if God has already designated who is going
to hell and who isn’t? Why spread this message in such an offensive manner?
Many of WBC’s members have a college education and they have lived amongst
other American citizens long enough to know that spreading a message of hate—offensively—will
not change anyone’s mind. WBC members really only aim to piss people off and
turn heads. They have a sensationalist agenda—the media only adds fuel to the
flames which this article argues: http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2011-03-10/news/bs-ed-funeral-protests-20110310_1_funeral-protests-westboro-baptist-church-fred-phelps
Here’s a video that serves as an example of the media giving
WBC the attention they desire: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_yES1izpdf0
Sorry for the poor quality.
Thank you! I am so glad you mentioned the media in this situation. If Westboro Baptist Church didn't receive so much attention, their impact wouldn't be as significant. I do feel that it is necessary to let the rest of the world know how ignorant these people are, but I don't think interviews and statements should be acknowledged when they are picketing. Just ignore their existence. When they are acknowledged, they've accomplished what they set out to do... get people's attention.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the statement above! I also like how you mentioned the fact that the church seems to exert some sort of control over their members. When researching more about the WBC I found many articles and videos on the subject of "brainwashing" to a certain extent. I am not sure that I would go as far to say that but their seems to be a level of control.
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