Discover the Best Books Written by Megan Phelps-Roper

Megan Phelps-Roper is an American political activist who is formerly a member of, and spokesperson for, the Westboro Baptist Church, a Calvinist Christian sect categorized as a hate group. Her mother is Shirley Phelps-Roper, and her grandfather is the church's founder, Fred Phelps. She grew up in Topeka, Kansas, in a compound with other members of the church. 

As a child, she was taught the Westboro Baptist Church doctrine and participated in the church's pickets against homosexuality, the American response to the September 11 terrorist attacks, and the funerals of soldiers who died in the War in Afghanistan and the War in Iraq. 

In 2009, she became active on Twitter to preach the church's doctrine. Phelps-Roper began to doubt her beliefs when Twitter users pointed out contradictions in the Westboro Baptist Church's doctrine, and when elders changed the church's decision-making process.

Phelps-Roper left the church in 2012 after she was unable to reconcile her doubts with her beliefs. Following her departure, Phelps-Roper became a prominent critic of the church's philosophy and practices. She travels around the world to speak about her experience in the church and advocates dialogue between groups with conflicting views. In 2019, she released the memoir Unfollow: A Journey from Hatred to Hope.

Megan Phelps-Roper was born in 1985 or 1986, and is the eldest daughter of Shirley Phelps-Roper and Brent Roper. Her 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. 

Her parents taught her the doctrine of the Westboro Baptist Church sect from an early age. She grew up on a compound in Topeka, Kansas, that was owned by other church members. When Phelps-Roper was 13, her grandfather baptized her into the Westboro Baptist Church.

After graduating from Washburn University, Phelps-Roper worked at her family's law firm, Phelps Chartered, as a business administrator. She also appeared as a regular guest on the Kansas City morning show Afentra's Big Fat Morning Buzz. In 2011, 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. 

After watching the documentary, her father insisted that she block the filmmakers on Twitter and limit her time on the social media platform. Phelps-Roper complied, reasoning that removing her focus from earthly matters would increase her spirituality. During this period, her mother was accused of not following church doctrine, and Phelps-Roper replaced her as the scheduler for the church's picketing demonstrations.