America's Most Hated Family in Crisis

Background

The Westboro Baptist Church, founded in 1955 by Fred Phelps, operates out of his home in Topeka, Kansas. Phelps, born in 1929 in Meridian, Mississippi, saw himself as a prophet tasked by God to spread a message of hate. He became a Southern Baptist minister in 1947, later earning an associate degree from John Muir Junior College in 1951, followed by a bachelor’s and a law degree from Washburn University in 1962 and 1964. Early on, he led a crusade against Jim Crow laws in Topeka.

His focus shifted in 1991 when a local park became a gathering spot for gay men, prompting him to protest homosexuality. He then targeted debates over LGBT civil rights. In 1998, he drew widespread criticism for shouting “Matt is in hell” at the funeral of Matthew Shepard, a gay man murdered for his sexuality. The church’s core belief is that God despises homosexuals, encapsulated in its motto “God Hates Fags.”

It interprets nearly every global tragedy as divine punishment for society’s acceptance of gay, lesbian, and bisexual people, and argues that homosexuality merits the death penalty. The group runs websites like GodHatesFags.com and GodHatesAmerica.com, and also condemns Catholics, Muslims, Jews, Sweden, Ireland, Canada, the Netherlands, and the United States. The Anti-Defamation League monitors the church, and the Southern Poverty Law Center labels it a hate group. Its notoriety largely stems from picketing the funerals of U.S. soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Premise

Four years after his last visit, Theroux went back to Topeka to look into why several Phelps family members had left. He decided to return after getting an email from a young ex-church member he had once interviewed, who had been disfellowshipped after leaving. The backdrop for this new film was the Supreme Court case Snyder v. Phelps, which stemmed from a lawsuit over picketing a Marine’s funeral. Theroux observed that church members had mixed feelings about his earlier documentary, and he described the follow-up as still funny but darker and stranger.

Reception

America's Most Hated Family in Crisis received mainly positive reviews. AOL Television's Mic Wright said the programme proved why Louis Theroux is an enduring explorer of odd and awful corners of the world. Rachel Tarley of the Metro called it terrifying and noted it could have been a spoof film about religious extremism if it were not real. The Daily Post described it as an extraordinary piece of television. Onthebox.com's Rhiannon Jones gave it four out of five stars, observing that Theroux was more challenging of the group's views than in his earlier work. The Independent's Oliver Duggan found it truly captivating. The Liverpool Echo's Paddy Shennan said Louis provides great publicity. However, the Irish Times's Bernice Harrison said the excitement of seeing Theroux back on screen with a new documentary soon wore off.