Blog 3 Westboro Baptist Church

Before this last week, I knew relatively little about the Westboro Baptist Church.  I was familiar with that they possessed radical views and the fact that they would picket rather unusual events.  The video we watched in class was definitely an eye opener in that it demonstrated their core beliefs and the strength of unity in the church.  The video humanized the group and showed that they were ordinary people with rather unusual religious views.  I by no means agree with their beliefs or methods of sharing them, however this is a perfect scenario of how skewed our perception is and how unwilling people are to accept others point of views.  I applaud the journalist for taking on the role of really getting to know these people and getting answers to questions that I am sure many people wonder. 

Seeing as that this is a social inequalities course it would be impossible not to talk about the core beliefs of this church.  The merciless damning of anyone who does not accept the Westboro Baptist Church is based solely on inequalities.  Sexual orientation, religious beliefs, and guilt by association are some of the major groups of social inequality demonstrated by this church.  At the end of the day I do believe that Westboro Baptist Church earns its reputation because of its beliefs on homosexuality and people in the armed forces.  I believe this was similar to many other popular religions, not based on the same inequalities but there are definitely key aspects of all religions that damn you if you do not agree.  When social scientists study the Westboro Baptist Church, I believe some of the main topics that will be studied will not only be on how they interact with the outside world but also how their church has created a social bond between the members of the church  that is stronger than many other religions.

If you want more information about Westboro Baptist Church, here is a link that takes you to their website that has videos, blogs, articles, and overall what it stands for: http://www.godhatesfags.com/