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Westboro Baptist Church
The Westboro Baptist Church (WBC) is an American unaffiliated Primitive Baptists, Primitive Baptist church in Topeka, Kansas, that was founded in 1955 by pastor Fred Phelps. It is widely considered a hate group and a cult, and is known for Protests by Westboro Baptist Church, its public protests Homophobia, against Homosexuality, gay people and for its usage of the phrases "God hates Faggot, fags" and "Thank God for dead soldiers". It also engages in hate speech against Discrimination against atheists, atheists, Antisemitism, Jews, Islamophobia, Muslims, Transphobia, transgender people, and other Christian denominations. The WBC's theology and practices are widely condemned by other Christian churches, including the Baptist World Alliance and the Southern Baptist Convention, and by politicians and public figures, including former U.S. President Barack Obama. WBC has been protesting against homosexuality since 1989. Within a few years, the group expanded to protesting across the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fred Phelps
Fred Waldron Phelps Sr. (November 13, 1929 – March 19, 2014) was an American Minister (Christianity), minister and Disbarment, disbarred lawyer who served as the pastor of the Westboro Baptist Church, worked as a civil rights attorney, and ran for statewide election in Kansas. A divisive and controversial figure, he gained national attention for his Homophobia, homophobic views and protests near the funerals of gay people, AIDS victims, military veterans, and disaster victims whom he believed were killed as a result of God punishing the U.S. for having "bankrupt values" and tolerating homosexuality. Phelps founded the Westboro Baptist Church, a Topeka, Kansas-based independent Primitive Baptist congregation, in 1955. It has been described by the Southern Poverty Law Center as "arguably the most obnoxious and rabid hate group in America". [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hate Speech
Hate speech is a term with varied meaning and has no single, consistent definition. It is defined by the ''Cambridge Dictionary'' as "public speech that expresses hate or encourages violence towards a person or group based on something such as race, religion, sex, or sexual orientation". The ''Encyclopedia of the American Constitution'' states that hate speech is "usually thought to include communications of animosity or disparagement of an individual or a group on account of a group characteristic such as race, color, national origin, sex, disability, religion, or sexual orientation". There is no single definition of what constitutes "hate" or "disparagement". Legal definitions of hate speech vary from country to country. There has been much debate over freedom of speech, hate speech, and hate speech legislation. The laws of some countries describe hate speech as speech, gestures, conduct, writing, or displays that incite violence or prejudicial actions against a group o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Assemblies Of God
The World Assemblies of God Fellowship (WAGF), commonly known as the Assemblies of God (AG), is a global cooperative body or communion of over 170 Pentecostal denominations that was established on August 15, 1989. The WAGF was created to provide structure so that member denominations, which previously related to each other informally, could more easily cooperate on a global basis. The organizational committee, in 1988 summarized the purposes for the WAGF: to promote and facilitate world evangelization; coordinate world relief; coordinate the use of media and other technological resources to promote the cause of Christ in a way pleasing to Him; provide a strong international platform to speak out on behalf of the suffering and persecuted churches; coordinate theological education; and produce an international directory of Pentecostal churches, missions and other Pentecostal agencies to help share information. Member denominations are independent and autonomous, but they are u ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mormons
Mormons are a Religious denomination, religious and ethnocultural group, cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement started by Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the 1820s. After Smith's death in 1844, the movement split into several groups following different leaders; the majority followed Brigham Young, while smaller groups followed Joseph Smith III, Sidney Rigdon, and James Strang. Most of these smaller groups eventually merged into the Community of Christ, and the term ''Mormon'' typically refers to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints membership statistics, members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), as today, this branch is far larger than all the others combined. People who identify as Mormons may also be independently religious, secular, and non-practicing or belong to List of denominations in the Latter Day Saint movement, other denominations. Since 2018, the LDS Church has ex ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Baptists In The United States
As of 2014, approximately 15.3% of Americans identified as Baptist, making Baptists the second-largest religious group in the United States, after Roman Catholics. By 2020, Baptists became the third-largest religious group in the United States, with the rise of nondenominational Protestantism. Baptists adhere to a congregationalist structure, so local church congregations are generally self-regulating and autonomous, meaning that their broadly Christian religious beliefs can and do vary. Baptists make up a significant portion of evangelicals in the United States (although many Baptist groups are classified as mainline) and approximately one third of all Protestants in the United States. Divisions among Baptists have resulted in numerous Baptist bodies, some with long histories and others more recently organized. There are also many Baptists operating independently or practicing their faith in entirely independent congregations. English Baptists migrated to the American coloni ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Presbyterians
Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Presbyterian'' is applied to churches that trace their roots to the Church of Scotland or to English Dissenter groups that were formed during the English Civil War, 1642 to 1651. Presbyterian theology typically emphasises the sovereignty of God, the authority of the Scriptures, and the necessity of grace through faith in Christ. Scotland ensured Presbyterian church government in the 1707 Acts of Union, which created the Kingdom of Great Britain. In fact, most Presbyterians in England have a Scottish connection. The Presbyterian denomination was also taken to North America, Australia, and New Zealand, mostly by Scots and Scots-Irish immigrants. Scotland's Presbyterian denominations hold to the Reformed theology of John Calvin and his i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lutherans
Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched the Reformation in 1517. The Lutheran Churches adhere to the Bible and the Ecumenical Creeds, with Lutheran doctrine being explicated in the Book of Concord. Lutherans hold themselves to be in continuity with the apostolic church and affirm the writings of the Church Fathers and the first four ecumenical councils. The schism between Roman Catholicism and Lutheranism, which was formalized in the Edict of Worms of 1521, centered around two points: the proper source of authority in the church, often called the formal principle of the Reformation, and the doctrine of justification, the material principle of Lutheran theology. Lutheranism advocates a doctrine of justification "by Grace alone through faith alone on the basis of Scripture alone", the doctrine ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Episcopal Church (United States)
The Episcopal Church (TEC), also known as the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America (PECUSA), is a member of the worldwide Anglican Communion, based in the United States. It is a mainline Protestant denomination and is divided into nine Ecclesiastical provinces and dioceses of the Episcopal Church, provinces. The current presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church is Sean Rowe, Sean W. Rowe. In 2023, the Episcopal Church had 1,547,779 members. it was the 14th largest denomination in the United States. Note: The number of members given here is the total number of baptized members in 2012 (cf. #refBaptizedMembers2012, Baptized Members by Province and Diocese 2002–2013). In 2025, Pew Research Center, Pew Research estimated that 1 percent of the adult population in the United States, or 2.6 million people, self-identify as mainline Episcopalians. The church has declined in membership and Sunday attendance since the 1960s, particularly in the Northeastern Uni ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Catholics
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions and has played a prominent role in the history and development of Western civilization. O'Collins, p. v (preface). The church consists of 24 ''sui iuris'' (autonomous) churches, including the Latin Church and 23 Eastern Catholic Churches, which comprise almost 3,500 dioceses and eparchies around the world, each overseen by one or more bishops. The pope, who is the bishop of Rome, is the chief pastor of the church. The core beliefs of Catholicism are found in the Nicene Creed. The Catholic Church teaches that it is the one, holy, catholic and apostolic church founded by Jesus Christ in his Great Commission, that its bishops are the successors of Christ's apostles, and that the pope is the successor of Saint Peter, upon whom pr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Christian Denomination
A Christian denomination is a distinct Religion, religious body within Christianity that comprises all Church (congregation), church congregations of the same kind, identifiable by traits such as a name, particular history, organization, leadership, theology, theological doctrine, worship style and, sometimes, a founder. It is a secular and neutral term, generally used to denote any established Christian church. Unlike a cult or sect, a denomination is usually seen as part of the Christian religious mainstream. Most Christian denominations refer to themselves as ''churches'', whereas some newer ones tend to interchangeably use the terms ''churches'', ''assemblies'', Koinonia, ''fellowships'', etc. Divisions between one group and another are defined by authority and doctrine; issues such as the Christology, nature of Jesus, the authority of apostolic succession, biblical hermeneutics, Christian theology, theology, ecclesiology, Christian eschatology, eschatology, and papal primacy m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Transphobia
Transphobia consists of negative attitudes, feelings, or actions towards transgender or transsexual people, or transness in general. Transphobia can include fear, aversion, hatred, violence or anger towards people who do not conform to social gender roles. Transphobia is a type of prejudice and discrimination, similar to racism, sexism, or ableism, and it is closely associated with homophobia. People of color who are transgender experience discrimination above and beyond that which can be explained as a simple combination of transphobia and racism. Transgender youth often experience a combination of abuse from family members, sexual harassment, and bullying or school violence. They are also disproportionately placed in foster care and welfare programs compared to their peers. Adult transgender people regularly encounter sexual violence, police violence, public ridicule, misgendering, or other forms of violence and harassment in their daily lives. These issues cause ma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
