1. Megan Phelps-Roper was born on January 31,1986 and is an American political activist who is formerly a member of, and spokesperson for, the Westboro Baptist Church, a Hyper-Calvinist Christian sect, widely regarded as a hate group.
33 Facts About Megan Phelps-Roper
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Megan Phelps-Roper's mother is Shirley Phelps-Roper, and her grandfather is the church's founder, Fred Phelps.
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Megan Phelps-Roper grew up in Topeka, Kansas, in a compound with other members of the church.
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Megan Phelps-Roper left the church in 2012 after she was unable to reconcile her doubts with her beliefs.
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Megan Phelps-Roper was born on January 31,1986, and is the eldest daughter of Shirley Phelps-Roper and Brent Roper.
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Megan Phelps-Roper's grandfather was Fred Phelps, who founded the Westboro Baptist Church, a Christian sect based on the members' Calvinist interpretation of the bible and categorized by the Southern Poverty Law Center as a hate group.
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Megan Phelps-Roper's parents taught her the doctrine of the Westboro Baptist Church sect from an early age.
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Megan Phelps-Roper grew up on a compound in Topeka, Kansas, that was owned by other church members.
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When Megan Phelps-Roper was 13, her grandfather baptized her into the Westboro Baptist Church.
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Megan Phelps-Roper appeared as a regular guest on the Kansas City morning show Afentra's Big Fat Morning Buzz.
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In 2011, Megan Phelps-Roper appeared in Louis Theroux's documentary America's Most Hated Family in Crisis, in which she described her contact with four Dutch filmmakers.
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Megan Phelps-Roper complied, reasoning that removing her focus from earthly matters would increase her spirituality.
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Megan Phelps-Roper has stated that as an adult, she doubted the church's doctrine and noted the existence of many contradictions within the church's beliefs.
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David Abitbol, a Jewish Twitter user, pointed out the contradictions which he perceived in the church's doctrine, including the fact that the church advocated the death penalty for people who have a child out of wedlock while Megan Phelps-Roper's mother was not married when her first child was born.
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Megan Phelps-Roper stopped carrying signs which called for the death penalty for sins, but stopped communicating with Abitbol so that he could not further challenge her beliefs.
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Megan Phelps-Roper felt that both events violated the church's interpretation of scripture and went against the group's concept of leadership.
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Megan Phelps-Roper stated that she did not want others to believe that her lack of response to the protests constituted tacit approval of the church's actions.
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Megan Phelps-Roper is married to Chad Fjelland, an attorney whom she met through Twitter while advocating for the Westboro Baptist Church.
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In October 2022, Megan Phelps-Roper tweeted that she and Fjelland had had a son.
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In 2019, Megan Phelps-Roper appeared in Louis Theroux's third documentary about the Westboro Baptist Church, Surviving America's Most Hated Family.
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Megan Phelps-Roper defended Theroux's inclusion of the footage, stating that she wanted her family members to see her unfiltered reaction to this information.
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In October 2019, Megan Phelps-Roper released a memoir called Unfollow: A Journey from Hatred to Hope, which details her upbringing and her decision to leave the Westboro Baptist Church.
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Megan Phelps-Roper participated in her first protest with the church against homosexuality when she was five years old.
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Megan Phelps-Roper picketed her public school, and local sporting events.
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At 11, Megan Phelps-Roper gave her first live interview to radio DJs, who had called her house wanting to interview her mother.
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Megan Phelps-Roper participated in interviews with local news stations, documentary filmmakers, and national talk shows, including The Howard Stern Show.
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In 2008, Megan Phelps-Roper joined Twitter but became an active member in 2009 after someone asked if the church was using the service.
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Megan Phelps-Roper preached the church's doctrine to celebrities and prominent users of the platform.
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In 2010, Megan Phelps-Roper filed a lawsuit claiming that Nebraska's law against desecrating the American flag infringed on her free speech rights.
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The parody, sung by Megan Phelps-Roper, changed the lyrics to claim that God will not listen to Lady Gaga's prayers and that she will be sent to Hell.
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Megan Phelps-Roper has spoken at festivals to groups that she previously protested against, including the Jewlicious Festival in Long Beach, California, and a Jewish cultural festival in Montreal.
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Megan Phelps-Roper has stated that she believes the Bible is not written by people under God's inspiration.
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Megan Phelps-Roper said that she avoids using the word "cult" to describe the Westboro Baptist Church.