Can anti-gay Westboro Church survive Fred Phelps' death?
Death of Fred Phelps may bring down the Westboro Baptist Church and its 'God hates fags' placards

A free daily digest of the biggest news stories of the day - and the best features from our website
Thank you for signing up to TheWeek. You will receive a verification email shortly.
There was a problem. Please refresh the page and try again.
FRED PHELPS, the founder of the fiercely anti-gay Westboro Baptist Church, has died aged 84.
Phelps founded his church in 1955. Its small congregation, largely comprised of Phelps' family members, gained notoriety for picketing the funerals of US servicemen and women killed in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The Westboro Baptist Church said that the soldiers' deaths were God's way of punishing the US for enabling same-sex marriages.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The group was notorious for brandishing placards with slogans such as "God hates fags" and "Thank God for dead soldiers" outside funerals.
The Southern Poverty Law Centre, an organisation that monitors hate groups in the US, describes Westboro as "arguably the most obnoxious and rabid hate group in America".
Where next for Westboro?Mark Potok, a spokesman for the Southern Poverty Law Center, told USA Today that the Westboro Baptist Church today appears to have fewer than "a few dozen" members.
The group is believed to have descended into infighting prior to Phelps's death. In an interview with the Daily Mail, Phelps's estranged son Nathan said that the church's founder had in fact been excommunicated from the group on his deathbed for having become too moderate.
In his view, the group is unlikely to survive its founder's death. He said: "More members have left – three in recent weeks. There will be a tipping point where they cannot lose any more of their children."
"It won't be my father's death that ends (the church). Ultimately it will fail with the death of his idea", Nathan Phelps said.
Other extreme-right groups, such as the National Alliance and Aryan Nations, have collapsed after the death of their founders, USA Today notes.
"When you build a group so much around the personality and politics of a single leader, it's sometimes difficult to keep that group alive when that leader dies," Potok said. "It's possible the church could fall apart in the next year or two".
Continue reading for free
We hope you're enjoying The Week's refreshingly open-minded journalism.
Subscribed to The Week? Register your account with the same email as your subscription.
Sign up to our 10 Things You Need to Know Today newsletter
A free daily digest of the biggest news stories of the day - and the best features from our website
-
The Swift-Kelce effect: a 'dream pairing' for the NFL
Why everyone's talking about Taylor Swift's appearance at the Chiefs vs. Bears game to see Travis Kelce added millions of TV viewers
By Richard Windsor, The Week UK Published
-
When will your favorite show be back now that the writers strike is over?
The Explainer Here's when to expect new episodes of the late-night shows, 'SNL,' and more
By Brendan Morrow Published
-
Artworks stolen by Nazis returned to heirs of cabaret performer
It wasn't all bad Good news stories from the past seven days
By The Week Staff Published
-
Sexual abuse and ‘cruel indifference’: the disgrace of the French Catholic Church
Speed Read Landmark report estimates around 330,000 children were abused by clergymen and officials between 1950 and 2020
By The Week Staff Published
-
French academics clash with minister over ‘Islamo-leftism’ inquiry
Speed Read Row over allegations of extremism in universities stokes growing culture war
By Chas Newkey-Burden Last updated
-
No. 10 says peerage for first black Archbishop ‘imminent’ after outcry over snub
Speed Read John Sentamu’s absence from honours list triggered accusations of ‘institutional prejudice’
By Chas Newkey-Burden Last updated
-
Former Jehovah’s Witnesses sue over historic sex abuse
Speed Read Group’s controversial ‘two witnesses’ policy has come under fire
By The Week Staff Last updated
-
Retired Pope Benedict warns against relaxing celibacy rules
Speed Read Benedict says he ‘cannot keep silent’ on the issue in new book
By The Week Staff Last updated
-
Pontiff passion killer: why Italians have less sex when the Pope’s in town
Speed Read New study reveals drop in unintended pregnancies following papal visits
By The Week Staff Last updated
-
Pope Francis lifts ‘pontifical secret’ rule in abuse cases
Speed Read Sex abuse cases will no longer be held in secret as Church wrestles with the issue
By The Week Staff Last updated
-
Catholic Church to consider ordaining married men
Speed Read Ending centuries of orthodoxy, radical plan aimed to address clergy shortage could lead to conservative backlash
By The Week Staff Last updated