[19] They believe in limited atonement, unconditional election, and the double predestination of both the saved and the damned, which can weigh heavily on members as well as those who leave the church.

According to Barrett-Fox, they see "moral living as a sign of election" and they say they have a duty to preach to the public, not to "save people" (who are predestined) but to spread a message of obedience to God.

Their Primitive Baptist practices include their style of worship, approach to church discipline, liturgical preferences and seeing themselves as from a "separatist, antiestablishment" lineage (p. 66).

[29] In an interview, Margie Phelps said WBC targeted the American Jewish community because members had "testified" to gentiles for 19 years that "America is doomed" and that "Now it's too late.

Phelps concluded by stating, in an apparent reference to the Book of Revelation, that all the nations of the world would soon march on Israel, and that they would be led by President Barack Obama, whom she called the "Antichrist".

[30] Jael Phelps said in a 2011 interview that she and the other members of WBC tauntingly and publicly burned a copy of the Quran while being scolded by a Muslim man, calling it an "idolatrous piece of trash" and that they were giving it the "proper respect that it deserves" by doing so.

Jael Phelps said the wife's death was partly due to her Muslim husband having spoken out against WBC, and therefore rejecting God and bringing his "righteous judgement" down upon him.

[40] WBC has received money from lawsuits and legal fees, through the closely related Phelps Chartered law firm, when its protests have been unlawfully disrupted.

[40][41][42] For example, the firm sued the city of Topeka several times in the 1990s,[40] and received $16,500 in legal fees for a court case won against a Marine's bereaved father.

[41] Because the firm represents WBC in its lawsuits, it can use money from cases it wins to further fund the organization under the Civil Rights Attorney's Fees Award Act of 1976.

According to Steve Drain (WBC's public information officer) in an interview with Vice News, "When we make our choice of songs, that really revolves around mostly popularity.

Shortly before this bill was signed members of the church had threatened to protest in Kokomo, Indiana, at a funeral service that was being held for a soldier who was killed in Iraq.

[54] On January 11, 2011, the state of Arizona held an emergency legislative session to pass a bill barring protests within 300 feet (91 m) of a funeral and within an hour from its beginning or end.

[55][56] On August 2, 2012, the U.S. Congress passed a bill that included restrictions on demonstrators at military funerals, which became law four days later when signed by Obama, who condemned the WBC.

Several petitions to the White House (using the We the People system) were submitted, calling on President Barack Obama to legally recognize the WBC as a hate group, revoke its tax exemption for religious organizations, and to ban protests at funerals and memorial services.

[66][67][68] The lawsuit alleged Fred Phelps, Rebekah Phelps-Davis, and Shirley Phelps-Roper were responsible for publishing defamatory statements about the Snyder family on the internet, including that Albert and his wife had "raised [Matthew] for the devil" and taught him "to defy his Creator, to divorce, and to commit adultery".

[71] On October 31, 2007, Phelps, Shirley Phelps-Roper and Rebecca Phelps-Davis were found liable for invasion of privacy and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

[72][73][74] The group unsuccessfully sought a mistrial based on alleged prejudicial statements made by the judge and violations of the gag order by the plaintiff's attorney.

It found the picket near the funeral was protected speech because it involved "matters of public concern, including the issues of homosexuals in the military, the sex-abuse scandal within the Catholic Church, and the political and moral conduct of the United States and its citizens", and did not violate the privacy of the service member's family.

"[85] Justice Samuel Alito, the lone dissenter, said Snyder wanted only to "bury his son in peace" and "Our profound national commitment to free and open debate is not a license for the vicious verbal assault that occurred in this case".

[86] In August 2008, Canadian officials learned of WBC's intent to stage a protest at the funeral of Tim McLean, a Winnipeg resident who was killed on a bus.

The protests intended to convey the message that the man's murder was God's response to Canadian laws permitting abortion, homosexuality, divorce and remarriage.

[89] In the lead-up to the picket, Members of Parliament, LGBTQ groups, and lobbyists appealed to Home Secretary Jacqui Smith, requesting WBC be blocked from entering the UK, on the basis of it inciting hatred towards LGBT people.

[129] In response to WBC's protests after the Sandy Hook shooting, Rapper Mac Lethal criticized the group in a video entitled "Beatbox + iPhone + Guitar + Fast Rap = Win".

"[141] He has also stated that, in addition to hurting others, his father used to physically abuse his wife and children by beating them with his fists and with the handle of a mattock to the point of bleeding.

[143] In March 2014, Nathan posted on Facebook that his father was in a hospice in Topeka and was near death, and that Fred was excommunicated from WBC in August 2013, for unclear reasons.

[146] Nathan had previously predicted the organization may fall into leadership and theological crises when Fred died, because he had been the binding figure and because their beliefs hold that they are immortal, which would be disproved with the death of a member.

[15] Megan Phelps-Roper, a grandchild of Fred Phelps, left WBC in 2012 together with her sister Grace, and explained her reasons and experiences in a TED talk.

[152] In the testimonial, Libby and Jael explain that they hope and pray that no one outside of Westboro becomes "elect",[152] because they want everyone else in the world to die horribly and burn in Hell,[152] and that even if they did not believe their actions were dictated by God, they would still do and enjoy them anyway.

[154] In the documentary, Theroux questioned Shirley Phelps-Roper as to whether she had considered if Westboro's protests were more likely to "put people off the Word of Jesus Christ and the Bible".