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{{Short description|American-Canadian writer and activist}}
{{Infobox person
{{Infobox person
|name = Nathan Phelps
|name = Nathan Phelps
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|death_place =
|death_place =
|nationality = Canadian-American
|nationality = Canadian-American
⚫
|employer =
|work_institutions =
|alma_mater =
|alma_mater =
|doctoral_advisor =
|doctoral_students =
|known_for = [[LGBT rights]] activist, [[Atheist]] activist, Calgary branch director for the [[Centre for Inquiry Canada]], son of former [[Westboro Baptist Church]] pastor [[Fred Phelps]]
|known_for = [[LGBT rights]] activist, [[Atheist]] activist, Calgary branch director for the [[Centre for Inquiry Canada]], son of former [[Westboro Baptist Church]] pastor [[Fred Phelps]]
|influences =
|awards =
|influenced =
⚫
|prizes =
|spouse =
|spouse =
|children = 6 (3 stepchildren)
|children = 6 (3 stepchildren)
|parents = [[Fred Phelps]]<br />Margie Marie Simms
|father = [[Fred Phelps]]
|relatives = [[Shirley Phelps-Roper]] (sister)<br>[[Megan Phelps-Roper]] (niece)
|relatives = {{ubl|[[Shirley Phelps-Roper]] (sister)|[[Megan Phelps-Roper]] (niece)}}
}}
}}
'''Nathan "Nate" Phelps''' (born November 22, 1958) is an American-born Canadian [[author]], [[LGBT rights]] activist,<ref name="GlobeandMail-2010">{{cite news|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/family-and-relationships/after-years-of-silence-nate-phelps-faces-off-with-his-anti-gay-father/article1621441/|title=After years of silence, Nate Phelps faces off with his anti-gay father |author=Hampson, Sarah. |date=2010-06-28 |publisher=[[The Globe and Mail]]}}</ref> and public speaker on the topics of [[religion]] and [[child abuse]]. He is the sixth-born of the 13 children of [[Fred Phelps]], from whom he &ndash; along with three of his siblings &ndash; had been estranged since his 18th birthday in 1976 until his father's death in 2014.<ref name="splcenter"/> Phelps permanently left [[Westboro Baptist Church]] in 1980 and has since publicly censured the group.<ref name="Pitch11022006">Kendall, Justin. [http://www.pitch.com/kansascity/the-new-fred/Content?oid=2183486 "The New Fred: Shirley Phelps-Roper is just like her notorious father &ndash; except in one crucial way,"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121226164820/http://www.pitch.com/kansascity/the-new-fred/Content?oid=2183486 |date=2012-12-26 }} Pitch.com, November 2, 2006. Retrieved December 21, 2012.</ref>
'''Nathan Phelps''' (born November 22, 1958) is an American-born Canadian [[author]], [[LGBT rights]] activist,<ref name="GlobeandMail-2010">{{cite news|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/family-and-relationships/after-years-of-silence-nate-phelps-faces-off-with-his-anti-gay-father/article1621441/|title=After years of silence, Nate Phelps faces off with his anti-gay father |author=Hampson, Sarah. |date=2010-06-28 |publisher=[[The Globe and Mail]]}}</ref> and public speaker on the topics of [[religion]] and [[child abuse]]. He is the sixth-born of the 13 children of [[Fred Phelps]], from whom he &ndash; along with three of his siblings &ndash; had been estranged since his 18th birthday in 1976 until his father's death in 2014.<ref name="splcenter"/> Phelps left his family home when he turned 18, and permanently left the [[Westboro Baptist Church]] four years later in 1980. He has since publicly censured the group.<ref name="Pitch11022006">Kendall, Justin. [http://www.pitch.com/kansascity/the-new-fred/Content?oid=2183486 "The New Fred: Shirley Phelps-Roper is just like her notorious father &ndash; except in one crucial way,"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121226164820/http://www.pitch.com/kansascity/the-new-fred/Content?oid=2183486 |date=2012-12-26 }} Pitch.com, November 2, 2006. Retrieved December 21, 2012.</ref>


==Early life==
==Early life==
Phelps was born in [[Topeka, Kansas]] on November 22, 1958.<ref name="date">{{cite web|url=http://www.rslevinson.com/gaylesissues/features/collect/phelps/bl_phelpschapter08.htm |title=Addicted to Hate: The Fred Phelps Story. Exhibit A of the lawsuit filed in Shawnee County District Court in Topeka, Kansas by Jon Michael Bell against Stauffer Communications in June of 1994, Case number 94CV766. Chapter 8: Over the Wall at Westboro |publisher=Deborah Levinson |website= Rslevinson.com |author=Jon Michael Bell, Joe Taschler and Steve Fry|date=1994-06-29 |accessdate=2013-12-05}}</ref> From birth until age 18, Phelps lived with his parents [[Fred Phelps|Fred]] and Margie in his hometown. Although he attended a local public school,<ref name="and"/> beyond that his life revolved around his father's Westboro Baptist Church (WBC), which adjoined their family home<ref name="telegraph"/> inside a walled compound.<ref name="splcenter"/> Attendance at scheduled sermons was strictly enforced, and after-school time was largely committed to raising money for the Church through selling candy.<ref name="irreligiosophy">{{cite web|url=http://www.irreligiosophy.com/?p=1408 |title=80: Nathan Phelps |publisher=Irreligiosophy |date=2010-09-14 |accessdate=2014-02-11}}</ref><ref name="lawrence"/> Later this was eclipsed by participation in his father's intensive exercise program, which would routinely involve Phelps and his siblings running 5 or 10 miles (8–16&nbsp;km) after school,<ref name="and">{{cite web|url=http://www.andmagazine.com/content/phoenix/12467.html |title=Nate Phelps - Ex-member of the Westboro Baptist Church and Phelps family|publisher=AND Magazine |accessdate=2014-02-11}}</ref> accompanied by participation in a fad diet.<ref name="tta">{{cite web|url=http://www.blogtalkradio.com/thethinkingatheist/2012/08/14/nathan-phelps-escaping-westboro-baptist-church|publisher=BlogTalkRadio|author=Seth Andrews|work=The Thinking Atheist|title=Nathan Phelps Escaping Westboro Baptist Church}}</ref>
Phelps was born in [[Topeka, Kansas]] on November 22, 1958.<ref name="date">{{cite web|url=http://www.rslevinson.com/gaylesissues/features/collect/phelps/bl_phelpschapter08.htm |title=Addicted to Hate: The Fred Phelps Story. Exhibit A of the lawsuit filed in Shawnee County District Court in Topeka, Kansas by Jon Michael Bell against Stauffer Communications in June of 1994, Case number 94CV766. Chapter 8: Over the Wall at Westboro |publisher=Deborah Levinson |website= Rslevinson.com |author=Jon Michael Bell, Joe Taschler and Steve Fry|date=1994-06-29 |accessdate=2013-12-05}}</ref> From birth until age 18, Phelps lived with his parents [[Fred Phelps|Fred]] and Margie in his hometown. Although he attended a local public school,<ref name="and"/> beyond that his life revolved around his father's Westboro Baptist Church (WBC), which adjoined their family home<ref name="telegraph"/> inside a walled compound.<ref name="splcenter"/> Attendance at scheduled sermons was strictly enforced, and after-school time was largely committed to raising money for the Church through selling candy.<ref name="irreligiosophy">{{cite web|url=http://www.irreligiosophy.com/?p=1408 |title=80: Nathan Phelps |publisher=Irreligiosophy |date=2010-09-14 |accessdate=2014-02-11}}</ref><ref name="lawrence"/> Later this was eclipsed by participation in his father's intensive exercise program, which would routinely involve Phelps and his siblings running 5 or 10 miles (8–16&nbsp;km) after school,<ref name="and">{{cite web|url=http://www.andmagazine.com/content/phoenix/12467.html |title=Nate Phelps - Ex-member of the Westboro Baptist Church and Phelps family|publisher=AND Magazine |accessdate=2014-02-11}}</ref> accompanied by participation in a fad diet.<ref name="tta">{{cite web|url=http://www.blogtalkradio.com/thethinkingatheist/2012/08/14/nathan-phelps-escaping-westboro-baptist-church|publisher=BlogTalkRadio|author=Seth Andrews|work=The Thinking Atheist|title=Nathan Phelps Escaping Westboro Baptist Church}}</ref>


Phelps describes his father as "deeply prejudiced",<ref name="telegraph"/> violent,<ref name="TCJ-2006"/> and abusive,<ref name="telegraph"/> and gives accounts of receiving extended beatings with a leather strap<ref name="splcenter">{{cite web|url=http://www.splcenter.org/get-informed/intelligence-report/browse-all-issues/2001/spring/a-city-held-hostage/on-the-inside |title=Inside the Westboro Baptist Church |publisher=Southern Poverty Law Center |year=2001 |accessdate=2014-02-23}}</ref> and later with a [[mattock]] handle.<ref name="ubyssey">{{cite web|url=http://www.library.ubc.ca/archives/pdfs/ubyssey/UBYSSEY_2008_10_31.pdf |title=Running From Hell - Growing Up in America's Most Hated Family (p6)|author=Trevor Melanson|publisher=[[The Ubyssey]]|date=2008-10-31 |accessdate=2014-02-11}}</ref> Nathan's brother Mark and sister Dortha have corroborated his claims of physical abuse by their father.<ref name="splcenter"/><ref name="Pitch11022006" /><ref name="telegraph"/><ref name="TCJ-1994">{{cite news |date=20 November 1994 |title=The Phelps family has declared war on Topeka |newspaper=Topeka Capital-Journal |location=Topeka, Kansas |publisher=[[Morris Communications]] }}</ref><ref name="motherjones"/>
Phelps describes his father as "deeply prejudiced",<ref name="telegraph"/> violent,<ref name="TCJ-2006"/> and abusive,<ref name="telegraph"/> and gives accounts of receiving extended beatings with a leather strap<ref name="splcenter">{{cite web|url=http://www.splcenter.org/get-informed/intelligence-report/browse-all-issues/2001/spring/a-city-held-hostage/on-the-inside |title=Inside the Westboro Baptist Church |publisher=Southern Poverty Law Center |year=2001 |accessdate=2014-02-23}}</ref> and later with a [[mattock]] handle.<ref name="ubyssey">{{cite web|url=http://www.library.ubc.ca/archives/pdfs/ubyssey/UBYSSEY_2008_10_31.pdf|title=Running From Hell - Growing Up in America's Most Hated Family (p6)|author=Trevor Melanson|publisher=[[The Ubyssey]]|date=2008-10-31|accessdate=2014-02-11|archive-date=2014-02-20|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140220200321/http://www.library.ubc.ca/archives/pdfs/ubyssey/UBYSSEY_2008_10_31.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> Nathan's brother Mark and sister Dortha have corroborated his claims of physical abuse by their father.<ref name="splcenter"/><ref name="Pitch11022006" /><ref name="telegraph"/><ref name="TCJ-1994">{{cite news |date=20 November 1994 |title=The Phelps family has declared war on Topeka |newspaper=Topeka Capital-Journal |location=Topeka, Kansas |publisher=[[Morris Communications]] }}</ref><ref name="motherjones"/>


==Leaving Westboro==
==Leaving Westboro==
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Phelps has been criticized by members of his family still active in the Westboro Baptist Church. His sister [[Shirley Phelps-Roper]], a prominent spokesperson for the Church, said "Nathan Phelps is a rebel against God. He has nothing to look forward to except sorrow, misery, death, and hell", and stated that he "left when he was a raging disobedient rebel with selective memory".<ref name="ubyssey"/> His only encounter with his father since 1980 was on a radio talk program, on which Fred Phelps was highly critical of his son.<ref name="date"/><ref name="telegraph"/><ref name="irreligiosophy"/><ref name="TCJ-2006"/>
Phelps has been criticized by members of his family still active in the Westboro Baptist Church. His sister [[Shirley Phelps-Roper]], a prominent spokesperson for the Church, said "Nathan Phelps is a rebel against God. He has nothing to look forward to except sorrow, misery, death, and hell", and stated that he "left when he was a raging disobedient rebel with selective memory".<ref name="ubyssey"/> His only encounter with his father since 1980 was on a radio talk program, on which Fred Phelps was highly critical of his son.<ref name="date"/><ref name="telegraph"/><ref name="irreligiosophy"/><ref name="TCJ-2006"/>


Westboro Baptist Church has itself been widely criticized, and has been described as "roundly derided" and "widely rebuked and criticized" by Christian groups<ref name="christianpost">{{cite web|url=http://www.christianpost.com/news/westboro-tornado-blame-jason-collins-and-kevin-durant-to-blame-for-oklahoma-twister-claims-phelps-video-96388/ |title=Westboro Tornado Blame: Jason Collins and Kevin Durant to Blame for Oklahoma Twister, Claims Phelps (VIDEO) |publisher=The Christian Post |date=2013-05-21 |accessdate=2014-02-23}}</ref> which distance WBC's views from their own, and in other cases WBC is accused of "misreading" and "misrepresenting" the Bible.<ref name="aol"/><ref name="cnn">{{cite web|url=http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2010/10/07/my-take-fred-phelps-is-wrong-about-the-gospel-right-about-the-law/ |title=Fred Phelps is wrong about the gospel, right about the law |publisher=CNN |date=2010-10-07 |accessdate=2014-02-23}}</ref> Phelps has responded to this position arguing that WBC's position was derived by his father from bona fide Biblical text<ref name="irreligiosophy"/> and has written on the wider subject of mainstream Christianity's rejection of extremists.<ref name="maria">{{cite web|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/nate-phelps/dear-maria_b_2307914.html |author=Nate Phelps |title=Dear Maria |publisher=Huffington Post |date=2012-12-18 |accessdate=2014-02-23}}</ref>
Westboro Baptist Church has itself been widely criticized, and has been described as "roundly derided" and "widely rebuked and criticized" by Christian groups<ref name="christianpost">{{cite web|url=http://www.christianpost.com/news/westboro-tornado-blame-jason-collins-and-kevin-durant-to-blame-for-oklahoma-twister-claims-phelps-video-96388/ |title=Westboro Tornado Blame: Jason Collins and Kevin Durant to Blame for Oklahoma Twister, Claims Phelps (VIDEO) |publisher=The Christian Post |date=2013-05-21 |accessdate=2014-02-23}}</ref> which distance WBC's views from their own, and in other cases WBC is accused of "misreading" and "misrepresenting" the Bible.<ref name="aol"/><ref name="cnn">{{cite web|url=http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2010/10/07/my-take-fred-phelps-is-wrong-about-the-gospel-right-about-the-law/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101008185733/http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2010/10/07/my-take-fred-phelps-is-wrong-about-the-gospel-right-about-the-law/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=October 8, 2010 |title=Fred Phelps is wrong about the gospel, right about the law |publisher=CNN |date=2010-10-07 |accessdate=2014-02-23}}</ref> Phelps has responded to this position arguing that WBC's position was derived by his father from bona fide Biblical text<ref name="irreligiosophy"/> and has written on the wider subject of mainstream Christianity's rejection of extremists.<ref name="maria">{{cite web|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/nate-phelps/dear-maria_b_2307914.html |author=Nate Phelps |title=Dear Maria |publisher=Huffington Post |date=2012-12-18 |accessdate=2014-02-23}}</ref>


==Kansas and California: From faith to atheism==
==Kansas and California: From faith to atheism==
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During an interview while at [[Merseyside Skeptics Society|QEDcon]] in April 2014, Phelps explained how the lingering effects of his indoctrination as a youth were so entrenched. He understood how one could feel persecuted and sincerely surprised when other people react quite strongly against ideas of what "the truth" was as he saw it:
During an interview while at [[Merseyside Skeptics Society|QEDcon]] in April 2014, Phelps explained how the lingering effects of his indoctrination as a youth were so entrenched. He understood how one could feel persecuted and sincerely surprised when other people react quite strongly against ideas of what "the truth" was as he saw it:


{{quote|"When I first heard that my family had started this 'God hates fags' campaign...immediately people start using words like 'cult' and 'hate,' and that kind of stuff. And I remember, more privately than anything else, that, 'No no no no, this isn't a cult, this is my family! This is a church, this is a ''real'' church! It's not a cult, and that no, that's not hateful, ''it's true!'' So I get it, because that's how you understand the world to be. And even though I had been gone for some time, it was still one of those moments where I got to recognize that I'm actually still holding a lot of these ideas as true in my mind even though I'm starting to question the whole God thing."<ref>{{cite web|last1=Jenkins|first1=Paul|title=Skepticule 070: Location podcast from QEDcon, featuring Nathan Phelps|url=http://www.skepticule.co.uk/2014/05/skepticule-070-20140412.html|website=Skepticule|accessdate=4 June 2014}}</ref>}}
{{blockquote|"When I first heard that my family had started this 'God hates fags' campaign...immediately people start using words like 'cult' and 'hate,' and that kind of stuff. And I remember, more privately than anything else, that, 'No no no no, this isn't a cult, this is my family! This is a church, this is a ''real'' church! It's not a cult, and that no, that's not hateful, ''it's true!'' So I get it, because that's how you understand the world to be. And even though I had been gone for some time, it was still one of those moments where I got to recognize that I'm actually still holding a lot of these ideas as true in my mind even though I'm starting to question the whole God thing."<ref>{{cite web|last1=Jenkins|first1=Paul|title=Skepticule 070: Location podcast from QEDcon, featuring Nathan Phelps|url=http://www.skepticule.co.uk/2014/05/skepticule-070-20140412.html|website=Skepticule|accessdate=4 June 2014}}</ref>}}


In the 20 years following his departure, Phelps tried to find a milder form of Christianity, and raised his own children in an [[Evangelicalism|Evangelical]] church, but his doubts only grew as he continued studying religion. At the [[Reason Rally]] in Washington on March 24, 2012, he told that the events of [[September 11 attacks|9/11]] finally brought him to disbelief:
In the 20 years following his departure, Phelps tried to find a milder form of Christianity, and raised his own children in an [[Evangelicalism|Evangelical]] church, but his doubts only grew as he continued studying religion. At the [[Reason Rally]] in Washington on March 24, 2012, he told that the events of [[September 11 attacks|9/11]] finally brought him to disbelief:


{{quote|"Then, one sunny September morning, the illusion of a personal God that I tried so hard to believe in, exploded over the skies of [[Manhattan]]. Even as the ashes and ruin of this horrific act of blind faith settled over [[New York City|New York]], [[Washington D.C.]], and [[Shanksville, Pennsylvania|Pennsylvania]], I watched people across the country scrambling to that same irrational altar for their answers. In the fierce storm of emotion that rolled across this country, one realization rose to the surface of my mind with blinding clarity: Certainly this mechanism of unassailable blind faith is one of the greatest risks mankind faces today."<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.patheos.com/blogs/camelswithhammers/2012/03/nate-phelpss-sadness/|title=Nate Phelps's Sadness|author=Daniel Fincke|date=March 26, 2012|accessdate=April 7, 2013}} at the Reason Rally, 02:35–02:45 pm March 24, 2012.</ref>}}
{{blockquote|"Then, one sunny September morning, the illusion of a personal God that I tried so hard to believe in, exploded over the skies of [[Manhattan]]. Even as the ashes and ruin of this horrific act of blind faith settled over [[New York City|New York]], [[Washington D.C.]], and [[Shanksville, Pennsylvania|Pennsylvania]], I watched people across the country scrambling to that same irrational altar for their answers. In the fierce storm of emotion that rolled across this country, one realization rose to the surface of my mind with blinding clarity: Certainly this mechanism of unassailable blind faith is one of the greatest risks mankind faces today."<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.patheos.com/blogs/camelswithhammers/2012/03/nate-phelpss-sadness/|title=Nate Phelps's Sadness|author=Daniel Fincke|date=March 26, 2012|accessdate=April 7, 2013}} at the Reason Rally, 02:35–02:45 pm March 24, 2012.</ref>}}


In addition to this, Phelps identifies both his experience reading [[Michael Shermer]]'s book ''[[The Science of Good and Evil]]''<ref name="irreligiosophy"/> and the birth of his first child<ref name="tta"/> as turning points in his worldview. Phelps now describes himself as an atheist.<ref name="and"/>
In addition to this, Phelps identifies both his experience reading [[Michael Shermer]]'s book ''[[The Science of Good and Evil]]''<ref name="irreligiosophy"/> and the birth of his first child<ref name="tta"/> as turning points in his worldview. Phelps now describes himself as an atheist.<ref name="and"/>
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==Career as activist, speaker, and author==
==Career as activist, speaker, and author==
[[File:Nate Phelps, speaking at the Imagine No Religion conference in Kamloops, BC, May 7, 2011.jpg|thumb|right|alt=Phelps at The Imagine No Religion conference in [[Kamloops, British Columbia]] on May 7, 2011|Phelps at The Imagine No Religion conference in [[Kamloops, British Columbia]] in 2011]]
[[File:Nate Phelps, speaking at the Imagine No Religion conference in Kamloops, BC, May 7, 2011.jpg|thumb|right|alt=Phelps at The Imagine No Religion conference in [[Kamloops, British Columbia]] on May 7, 2011|Phelps at The Imagine No Religion conference in [[Kamloops, British Columbia]] in 2011]]
Phelps later moved to rural [[British Columbia]], Canada,<ref name="and"/> and currently lives in [[Calgary, Alberta|Calgary]], [[Alberta]]. He is the Executive Director of the [[Centre for Inquiry Canada|Centre for Inquiry Calgary]],<ref name="cfi">{{cite web|url=http://centreforinquiry.ca/author/cfi-calgary/ |title=Centre for Inquiry Calgary |publisher=Centre for Inquiry Canada|website=Centreforinquiry.ca |accessdate=2014-02-11}}</ref> a secular organization that educates and advocates [[reason]] and [[science]]. He also serves on the board of directors of [[Recovering from Religion]], which offers education and practical support for people leaving religious communities.<ref>{{cite web|title=Nate Phelps (bio)|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/nate-phelps|work=The Huffington Post|accessdate=6 May 2012}}</ref><ref name="rfrdirs">{{cite web|url=http://recoveringfromreligion.org/board-of-directors/ |title=Board of Directors |publisher=[[Recovering from Religion]] |accessdate=2014-02-11}}</ref>
Phelps later moved to rural [[British Columbia]], Canada,<ref name="and"/> and currently lives in [[Calgary, Alberta|Calgary]], [[Alberta]]. He is the executive director of the [[Centre for Inquiry Canada|Centre for Inquiry Calgary]],<ref name="cfi">{{cite web|url=http://centreforinquiry.ca/author/cfi-calgary/ |title=Centre for Inquiry Calgary |publisher=Centre for Inquiry Canada|website=Centreforinquiry.ca |accessdate=2014-02-11}}</ref> a secular organization that educates and advocates [[reason]] and [[science]]. He also serves on the board of directors of [[Recovering from Religion]], which offers education and practical support for people leaving religious communities.<ref>{{cite web|title=Nate Phelps (bio)|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/nate-phelps|work=The Huffington Post|accessdate=6 May 2012}}</ref><ref name="rfrdirs">{{cite web|url=http://recoveringfromreligion.org/board-of-directors/ |title=Board of Directors |publisher=[[Recovering from Religion]] |accessdate=2014-02-11}}</ref>


Phelps is an active public speaker<ref name="events">{{cite web|url=http://natephelps.com/events |title=Events - Nate Phelps Official Website |publisher=Natephelps.com |accessdate=2014-02-13}}</ref> and appears at events designed to promote the ideas of atheism, skepticism, and secularism.<ref name="nationalpost"/><ref name="rock">{{cite web|last=Brayton |first=Ed |url=http://freethoughtblogs.com/dispatches/2012/04/22/nate-phelps-at-rock-beyond-belief/ |title=Nate Phelps at Rock Beyond Belief » Dispatches from the Culture Wars |publisher=Freethoughtblogs.com |accessdate=2014-02-11}}</ref> He has spoken at numerous [[Gay Pride]] events<ref name="lawrence">[[Lawrence Tech]] Pride Week 2012 {{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mR7541iEupk&list=PLZagmaVTtDKNG5GxIvrW5ubWPnz5ncQD_&index=2 |title= Nate Phelps |publisher=YouTube |date=2012-03-24 |accessdate=2014-02-13}}</ref><ref>[[Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania|Pittsburgh]] Pride Week 2010 {{cite web|url=http://www.popcitymedia.com/forgood/prideweek0609.aspx |title=Stunning Pride Week kickoff: Son of anti-gay activist promotes tolerance at rally |publisher=Popcitymedia.com |date=2010-06-09 |accessdate=2014-02-13}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://religionismanmade.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/nate-phelps-wesboros-forgotten-son.html |title=Toronto Gay Pride 2010. Religion is Man-Made: Nate Phelps: Wesboro's forgotten son |publisher=Religionismanmade.blogspot.co.uk |date=2013-06-24 |accessdate=2014-02-13}}</ref> and describes himself as an "[[LGBT]] activist".<ref name="bio">{{cite web|url=http://natephelps.com/bio|title=Biography|publisher=natephelps.com}}</ref><ref name="xtra">{{cite web|url=http://dailyxtra.com/ottawa/news/nate-phelps-breaking-the-mould |title=Nate Phelps: Breaking the mould |publisher=[[Xtra!|Daily Xtra]] |date=2011-08-15 |accessdate=2014-02-17}}</ref> He emphasises his work raising awareness of child abuse related to religion and its legal status<ref name="irreligiosophy"/> and has published articles on this topic.<ref name="huffington">{{cite web|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/nate-phelps/ritual-child-sacrifice-is_b_3510663.html |title=Nate Phelps: Ritual Child Sacrifice Is Alive and Well in 21st-Century America |publisher=Huffingtonpost.com |accessdate=2014-02-11}}</ref>
Phelps is an active public speaker<ref name="events">{{cite web |url=http://natephelps.com/events |title=Events - Nate Phelps Official Website |publisher=Natephelps.com |accessdate=2014-02-13 |archive-date=2014-02-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140220200800/http://natephelps.com/events |url-status=dead }}</ref> and appears at events designed to promote the ideas of atheism, skepticism, and secularism.<ref name="nationalpost"/><ref name="rock">{{cite web|last=Brayton |first=Ed |url=http://freethoughtblogs.com/dispatches/2012/04/22/nate-phelps-at-rock-beyond-belief/ |title=Nate Phelps at Rock Beyond Belief » Dispatches from the Culture Wars |date=22 April 2012 |publisher=Freethoughtblogs.com |accessdate=2014-02-11}}</ref> He has spoken at numerous [[Gay Pride]] events<ref name="lawrence">[[Lawrence Tech]] Pride Week 2012 {{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mR7541iEupk&list=PLZagmaVTtDKNG5GxIvrW5ubWPnz5ncQD_&index=2 |title= Nate Phelps |publisher=YouTube |date=2012-03-24 |accessdate=2014-02-13}}</ref><ref>[[Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania|Pittsburgh]] Pride Week 2010 {{cite web |url=http://www.popcitymedia.com/forgood/prideweek0609.aspx |title=Stunning Pride Week kickoff: Son of anti-gay activist promotes tolerance at rally |publisher=Popcitymedia.com |date=2010-06-09 |accessdate=2014-02-13 |archive-date=2014-03-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140316170511/http://www.popcitymedia.com/forgood/prideweek0609.aspx |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://religionismanmade.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/nate-phelps-wesboros-forgotten-son.html |title=Toronto Gay Pride 2010. Religion is Man-Made: Nate Phelps: Wesboro's forgotten son |publisher=Religionismanmade.blogspot.co.uk |date=2013-06-24 |accessdate=2014-02-13}}</ref> and describes himself as an "[[LGBT]] activist".<ref name="bio">{{cite web|url=http://natephelps.com/bio|title=Biography|publisher=natephelps.com|access-date=2014-03-16|archive-date=2014-02-23|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140223100235/http://natephelps.com/bio|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="xtra">{{cite web|url=http://dailyxtra.com/ottawa/news/nate-phelps-breaking-the-mould |title=Nate Phelps: Breaking the mould |publisher=[[Xtra!|Daily Xtra]] |date=2011-08-15 |accessdate=2014-02-17}}</ref> He emphasises his work raising awareness of child abuse related to religion and its legal status<ref name="irreligiosophy"/> and has published articles on this topic.<ref name="huffington">{{cite web|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/nate-phelps/ritual-child-sacrifice-is_b_3510663.html |title=Nate Phelps: Ritual Child Sacrifice Is Alive and Well in 21st-Century America |date=28 June 2013 |publisher=Huffingtonpost.com |accessdate=2014-02-11}}</ref>


Phelps is known for his criticism of the Westboro Baptist Church through literature, interviews, public speaking at atheist conventions, and his website. He states that his father physically abused him and the other Phelps children, and he believes that the church was an organization for his father to "vent his rage and anger."<ref name="TCJ-2006">{{cite web |url=http://cjonline.com/stories/072306/loc_phelps.shtml|title=Phelps' son speaks out |author=Anderson, Ric |date=2006-07-23 |publisher=[[The Topeka Capital-Journal|Topeka Capital-Journal]]}}</ref>
Phelps is known for his criticism of the Westboro Baptist Church through literature, interviews, public speaking at atheist conventions, and his website. He states that his father physically abused him and the other Phelps children, and he believes that the church was an organization for his father to "vent his rage and anger."<ref name="TCJ-2006">{{cite web |url=http://cjonline.com/stories/072306/loc_phelps.shtml |title=Phelps' son speaks out |author=Anderson, Ric |date=2006-07-23 |publisher=[[The Topeka Capital-Journal|Topeka Capital-Journal]] |access-date=2012-03-11 |archive-date=2007-09-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929095543/http://cjonline.com/stories/072306/loc_phelps.shtml |url-status=dead }}</ref> Nathan has been speaking out against the Westboro Baptist Church as early as 2006.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2007-09-29 |title=Phelps' son speaks out 07/23/06 |url=https://www.cjonline.com/stories/072306/loc_phelps.shtml/ |access-date=2023-04-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929095543/https://www.cjonline.com/stories/072306/loc_phelps.shtml/ |archive-date=2007-09-29 }}</ref>


As of 2014, Phelps was working on a book called ''Leaving Westboro: Escaping America's Most Hated Church & Family''.<ref name="cfi"/> In the same year, he made a widely reported announcement that his father was terminally ill,<ref name="independent">{{cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/fred-phelps-founder-of-god-hates-fags-westboro-baptist-church-is-on-edge-of-death-9195777.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140317114035/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/fred-phelps-founder-of-god-hates-fags-westboro-baptist-church-is-on-edge-of-death-9195777.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=March 17, 2014|title=Fred Phelps, founder of 'God Hates Fags' Westboro Baptist Church, is 'on edge of death'|author=Adam Withnall|work=[[The Independent]]|date=2014-03-16}}</ref> and also that Phelps had been "excommunicated" from his own church during 2013.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/mar/16/pastor-gay-hating-church-close-death-fred-phelps|title=Fred Phelps Sr, ex-pastor of gay-hating Westboro church, 'close to death'|author=Martin Pengelly|newspaper=[[The Guardian]]|date=2014-03-16}}</ref> Phelps' father died of natural causes shortly before midnight on March 19, 2014.<ref name="Hanna">{{cite news|last=Hanna|first=John|title=Anti-gay pastor Fred Phelps, Sr. dies|url=https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/anti-gay-pastor-fred-phelps-sr-dies-84-22986518|newspaper=[[ABC News]]}}</ref><ref name="BBC 967">{{cite web|title=Anti-gay Westboro Baptist Church leader Fred Phelps dies|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-26669967|work=[[BBC]]|accessdate=20 March 2014}}</ref><ref name="cnn-fredphelpsdead">{{cite news|last=Burke|first=Daniel|title=Westboro church founder Fred Phelps dies|url=http://www.cnn.com/2014/03/20/us/westboro-church-founder-dead/|accessdate=20 March 2014|newspaper=CNN.com|date=20 March 2014}}</ref> The [[Recovering from Religion]] organization released a statement on behalf of Phelps, who is on their board of directors, about his father's death.<ref>{{cite web|last=Phelps|first=Nathan|title=The Lessons of My Father – Nathan Phelps Speaks Out on Fred Phelps' Death|url=http://recoveringfromreligion.org/584-2/|work=[[Recovering From Religion]]|publisher=Recovering From Religion|accessdate=21 March 2014}}</ref> He is currently an Emeritus Board Member of Recovering From Religion and Executive Director for the Center For Inquiry in Calgary.<ref>{{cite web |title=Board Of Directors |url=https://www.recoveringfromreligion.org/board-of-directors |website=Recovering from Religion |accessdate=30 July 2020}}</ref>
As of 2014, Phelps was working on a book called ''Leaving Westboro: Escaping America's Most Hated Church & Family''.<ref name="cfi"/> In the same year, he made a widely reported announcement that his father was terminally ill,<ref name="independent">{{cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/fred-phelps-founder-of-god-hates-fags-westboro-baptist-church-is-on-edge-of-death-9195777.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140317114035/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/fred-phelps-founder-of-god-hates-fags-westboro-baptist-church-is-on-edge-of-death-9195777.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=March 17, 2014|title=Fred Phelps, founder of 'God Hates Fags' Westboro Baptist Church, is 'on edge of death'|author=Adam Withnall|work=[[The Independent]]|date=2014-03-16}}</ref> and also that Phelps had been "excommunicated" from his own church during 2013.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/mar/16/pastor-gay-hating-church-close-death-fred-phelps|title=Fred Phelps Sr, ex-pastor of gay-hating Westboro church, 'close to death'|author=Martin Pengelly|newspaper=[[The Guardian]]|date=2014-03-16}}</ref> Phelps' father died of natural causes shortly before midnight on March 19, 2014.<ref name="Hanna">{{cite news|last=Hanna|first=John|title=Anti-gay pastor Fred Phelps, Sr. dies|url=https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/anti-gay-pastor-fred-phelps-sr-dies-84-22986518|newspaper=[[ABC News (United States)|ABC News]]}}</ref><ref name="BBC 967">{{cite news|title=Anti-gay Westboro Baptist Church leader Fred Phelps dies|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-26669967|work=[[BBC]]|date=20 March 2014|accessdate=20 March 2014}}</ref><ref name="cnn-fredphelpsdead">{{cite news|last=Burke|first=Daniel|title=Westboro church founder Fred Phelps dies|url=http://www.cnn.com/2014/03/20/us/westboro-church-founder-dead/|accessdate=20 March 2014|newspaper=CNN.com|date=20 March 2014}}</ref> The [[Recovering from Religion]] organization released a statement on behalf of Phelps, who is on their board of directors, about his father's death.<ref>{{cite web|last=Phelps|first=Nathan|title=The Lessons of My Father – Nathan Phelps Speaks Out on Fred Phelps' Death|url=http://recoveringfromreligion.org/584-2/|work=[[Recovering From Religion]]|publisher=Recovering From Religion|accessdate=21 March 2014}}</ref> He is currently an Emeritus Board Member of Recovering From Religion and executive director for the Center For Inquiry in Calgary.<ref>{{cite web |title=Board Of Directors |url=https://www.recoveringfromreligion.org/board-of-directors |website=Recovering from Religion |accessdate=30 July 2020}}</ref>


==See also==
==See also==
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[[Category:American skeptics]]
[[Category:American skeptics]]
[[Category:Canadian atheists]]
[[Category:Canadian atheists]]
[[Category:LGBT rights activists from the United States]]
[[Category:American LGBTQ rights activists]]
[[Category:American atheism activists]]
[[Category:American atheism activists]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Living people]]
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[[Category:American former Christians]]
[[Category:American former Christians]]
[[Category:Activists from Kansas]]
[[Category:Activists from Kansas]]
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[[Category:Canadian LGBTQ rights activists]]

Latest revision as of 03:20, 25 September 2024

Nathan Phelps
Phelps speaking at QED, Manchester, UK in 2014
Born (1958-11-22) November 22, 1958 (age 66)
Topeka, Kansas, U.S.
NationalityCanadian-American
Known forLGBT rights activist, Atheist activist, Calgary branch director for the Centre for Inquiry Canada, son of former Westboro Baptist Church pastor Fred Phelps
Children6 (3 stepchildren)
FatherFred Phelps
Relatives

Nathan Phelps (born November 22, 1958) is an American-born Canadian author, LGBT rights activist,[1] and public speaker on the topics of religion and child abuse. He is the sixth-born of the 13 children of Fred Phelps, from whom he – along with three of his siblings – had been estranged since his 18th birthday in 1976 until his father's death in 2014.[2] Phelps left his family home when he turned 18, and permanently left the Westboro Baptist Church four years later in 1980. He has since publicly censured the group.[3]

Early life

[edit]

Phelps was born in Topeka, Kansas on November 22, 1958.[4] From birth until age 18, Phelps lived with his parents Fred and Margie in his hometown. Although he attended a local public school,[5] beyond that his life revolved around his father's Westboro Baptist Church (WBC), which adjoined their family home[6] inside a walled compound.[2] Attendance at scheduled sermons was strictly enforced, and after-school time was largely committed to raising money for the Church through selling candy.[7][8] Later this was eclipsed by participation in his father's intensive exercise program, which would routinely involve Phelps and his siblings running 5 or 10 miles (8–16 km) after school,[5] accompanied by participation in a fad diet.[9]

Phelps describes his father as "deeply prejudiced",[6] violent,[10] and abusive,[6] and gives accounts of receiving extended beatings with a leather strap[2] and later with a mattock handle.[11] Nathan's brother Mark and sister Dortha have corroborated his claims of physical abuse by their father.[2][3][6][12][13]

Leaving Westboro

[edit]

On his 18th birthday, Phelps left his family home. Still in internal conflict, he abandoned his family and the WBC, despite his then deeply-held belief that this meant he would go immediately to hell.[7] In great fear of having his escape interrupted by his abusive father,[14] Phelps made a clandestine nighttime getaway[6] in an old car he had bought specifically for this purpose, with little plan or preparation beyond this.[9] He slept the first night in the men's room of a nearby gas station.[4]

Phelps left WBC prior to the start of the Church's high-profile picketing activities, and has attributed the onset of Church picketing to his father's exclusion[13] from the legal profession.[7]

Phelps has been criticized by members of his family still active in the Westboro Baptist Church. His sister Shirley Phelps-Roper, a prominent spokesperson for the Church, said "Nathan Phelps is a rebel against God. He has nothing to look forward to except sorrow, misery, death, and hell", and stated that he "left when he was a raging disobedient rebel with selective memory".[11] His only encounter with his father since 1980 was on a radio talk program, on which Fred Phelps was highly critical of his son.[4][6][7][10]

Westboro Baptist Church has itself been widely criticized, and has been described as "roundly derided" and "widely rebuked and criticized" by Christian groups[15] which distance WBC's views from their own, and in other cases WBC is accused of "misreading" and "misrepresenting" the Bible.[16][17] Phelps has responded to this position arguing that WBC's position was derived by his father from bona fide Biblical text[7] and has written on the wider subject of mainstream Christianity's rejection of extremists.[18]

Kansas and California: From faith to atheism

[edit]
Phelps at the Reason Rally

After leaving WBC, Phelps undertook various jobs before reuniting with his older brother Mark, and in 1978 they established a printing company together in Prairie Village, near Kansas City.[4] The company later relocated to Southern California. Phelps worked for 25 years in the print business.[7]

Three years after leaving, Phelps contacted his family,[4] and for a brief period left Mark and the firm to stay with them. His father had offered to fund him through law school, a path which took 11 of his siblings into careers as lawyers,[16] but which Phelps declined. Fred never accepted him back, eventually denouncing him. Phelps then left again, this time for good, permanently breaking contact with his father.[19]

During an interview while at QEDcon in April 2014, Phelps explained how the lingering effects of his indoctrination as a youth were so entrenched. He understood how one could feel persecuted and sincerely surprised when other people react quite strongly against ideas of what "the truth" was as he saw it:

"When I first heard that my family had started this 'God hates fags' campaign...immediately people start using words like 'cult' and 'hate,' and that kind of stuff. And I remember, more privately than anything else, that, 'No no no no, this isn't a cult, this is my family! This is a church, this is a real church! It's not a cult, and that no, that's not hateful, it's true! So I get it, because that's how you understand the world to be. And even though I had been gone for some time, it was still one of those moments where I got to recognize that I'm actually still holding a lot of these ideas as true in my mind even though I'm starting to question the whole God thing."[20]

In the 20 years following his departure, Phelps tried to find a milder form of Christianity, and raised his own children in an Evangelical church, but his doubts only grew as he continued studying religion. At the Reason Rally in Washington on March 24, 2012, he told that the events of 9/11 finally brought him to disbelief:

"Then, one sunny September morning, the illusion of a personal God that I tried so hard to believe in, exploded over the skies of Manhattan. Even as the ashes and ruin of this horrific act of blind faith settled over New York, Washington D.C., and Pennsylvania, I watched people across the country scrambling to that same irrational altar for their answers. In the fierce storm of emotion that rolled across this country, one realization rose to the surface of my mind with blinding clarity: Certainly this mechanism of unassailable blind faith is one of the greatest risks mankind faces today."[21]

In addition to this, Phelps identifies both his experience reading Michael Shermer's book The Science of Good and Evil[7] and the birth of his first child[9] as turning points in his worldview. Phelps now describes himself as an atheist.[5]

Career as activist, speaker, and author

[edit]
Phelps at The Imagine No Religion conference in Kamloops, British Columbia on May 7, 2011
Phelps at The Imagine No Religion conference in Kamloops, British Columbia in 2011

Phelps later moved to rural British Columbia, Canada,[5] and currently lives in Calgary, Alberta. He is the executive director of the Centre for Inquiry Calgary,[22] a secular organization that educates and advocates reason and science. He also serves on the board of directors of Recovering from Religion, which offers education and practical support for people leaving religious communities.[23][24]

Phelps is an active public speaker[25] and appears at events designed to promote the ideas of atheism, skepticism, and secularism.[14][26] He has spoken at numerous Gay Pride events[8][27][28] and describes himself as an "LGBT activist".[29][30] He emphasises his work raising awareness of child abuse related to religion and its legal status[7] and has published articles on this topic.[31]

Phelps is known for his criticism of the Westboro Baptist Church through literature, interviews, public speaking at atheist conventions, and his website. He states that his father physically abused him and the other Phelps children, and he believes that the church was an organization for his father to "vent his rage and anger."[10] Nathan has been speaking out against the Westboro Baptist Church as early as 2006.[32]

As of 2014, Phelps was working on a book called Leaving Westboro: Escaping America's Most Hated Church & Family.[22] In the same year, he made a widely reported announcement that his father was terminally ill,[33] and also that Phelps had been "excommunicated" from his own church during 2013.[34] Phelps' father died of natural causes shortly before midnight on March 19, 2014.[35][36][37] The Recovering from Religion organization released a statement on behalf of Phelps, who is on their board of directors, about his father's death.[38] He is currently an Emeritus Board Member of Recovering From Religion and executive director for the Center For Inquiry in Calgary.[39]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Hampson, Sarah. (2010-06-28). "After years of silence, Nate Phelps faces off with his anti-gay father". The Globe and Mail.
  2. ^ a b c d "Inside the Westboro Baptist Church". Southern Poverty Law Center. 2001. Retrieved 2014-02-23.
  3. ^ a b Kendall, Justin. "The New Fred: Shirley Phelps-Roper is just like her notorious father – except in one crucial way," Archived 2012-12-26 at the Wayback Machine Pitch.com, November 2, 2006. Retrieved December 21, 2012.
  4. ^ a b c d e Jon Michael Bell, Joe Taschler and Steve Fry (1994-06-29). "Addicted to Hate: The Fred Phelps Story. Exhibit A of the lawsuit filed in Shawnee County District Court in Topeka, Kansas by Jon Michael Bell against Stauffer Communications in June of 1994, Case number 94CV766. Chapter 8: Over the Wall at Westboro". Rslevinson.com. Deborah Levinson. Retrieved 2013-12-05.
  5. ^ a b c d "Nate Phelps - Ex-member of the Westboro Baptist Church and Phelps family". AND Magazine. Retrieved 2014-02-11.
  6. ^ a b c d e f Hannaford, Alex (2013-03-12). "Nate Phelps on escaping Westboro Baptist Church". The Telegraph. Retrieved 2014-02-11.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h "80: Nathan Phelps". Irreligiosophy. 2010-09-14. Retrieved 2014-02-11.
  8. ^ a b Lawrence Tech Pride Week 2012 "Nate Phelps". YouTube. 2012-03-24. Retrieved 2014-02-13.
  9. ^ a b c Seth Andrews. "Nathan Phelps Escaping Westboro Baptist Church". The Thinking Atheist. BlogTalkRadio.
  10. ^ a b c Anderson, Ric (2006-07-23). "Phelps' son speaks out". Topeka Capital-Journal. Archived from the original on 2007-09-29. Retrieved 2012-03-11.
  11. ^ a b Trevor Melanson (2008-10-31). "Running From Hell - Growing Up in America's Most Hated Family (p6)" (PDF). The Ubyssey. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-02-20. Retrieved 2014-02-11.
  12. ^ "The Phelps family has declared war on Topeka". Topeka Capital-Journal. Topeka, Kansas: Morris Communications. 20 November 1994.
  13. ^ a b Kerry Lauerman (1999). "The Man Who Loves To Hate". Mother Jones. Retrieved 2014-02-23.
  14. ^ a b "Leaving Westboro: Nate Phelps traded a hate-filled faith for atheism". National Post. 2012-09-29. Retrieved 2014-02-11.
  15. ^ "Westboro Tornado Blame: Jason Collins and Kevin Durant to Blame for Oklahoma Twister, Claims Phelps (VIDEO)". The Christian Post. 2013-05-21. Retrieved 2014-02-23.
  16. ^ a b Andrea Stone Senior Washington Correspondent (2011-03-03). "Fred Phelps' Daughters May Misread Bible but They Know the Law". Aolnews.com. Archived from the original on 2014-03-16. Retrieved 2014-02-23. {{cite web}}: |author= has generic name (help)
  17. ^ "Fred Phelps is wrong about the gospel, right about the law". CNN. 2010-10-07. Archived from the original on October 8, 2010. Retrieved 2014-02-23.
  18. ^ Nate Phelps (2012-12-18). "Dear Maria". Huffington Post. Retrieved 2014-02-23.
  19. ^ Hannaford, Alex (2013-03-12). "My father, the hate preacher: Nate Phelps on escaping Westboro Baptist Church". Daily Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2019-08-15.
  20. ^ Jenkins, Paul. "Skepticule 070: Location podcast from QEDcon, featuring Nathan Phelps". Skepticule. Retrieved 4 June 2014.
  21. ^ Daniel Fincke (March 26, 2012). "Nate Phelps's Sadness". Retrieved April 7, 2013. at the Reason Rally, 02:35–02:45 pm March 24, 2012.
  22. ^ a b "Centre for Inquiry Calgary". Centreforinquiry.ca. Centre for Inquiry Canada. Retrieved 2014-02-11.
  23. ^ "Nate Phelps (bio)". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 6 May 2012.
  24. ^ "Board of Directors". Recovering from Religion. Retrieved 2014-02-11.
  25. ^ "Events - Nate Phelps Official Website". Natephelps.com. Archived from the original on 2014-02-20. Retrieved 2014-02-13.
  26. ^ Brayton, Ed (22 April 2012). "Nate Phelps at Rock Beyond Belief » Dispatches from the Culture Wars". Freethoughtblogs.com. Retrieved 2014-02-11.
  27. ^ Pittsburgh Pride Week 2010 "Stunning Pride Week kickoff: Son of anti-gay activist promotes tolerance at rally". Popcitymedia.com. 2010-06-09. Archived from the original on 2014-03-16. Retrieved 2014-02-13.
  28. ^ "Toronto Gay Pride 2010. Religion is Man-Made: Nate Phelps: Wesboro's forgotten son". Religionismanmade.blogspot.co.uk. 2013-06-24. Retrieved 2014-02-13.
  29. ^ "Biography". natephelps.com. Archived from the original on 2014-02-23. Retrieved 2014-03-16.
  30. ^ "Nate Phelps: Breaking the mould". Daily Xtra. 2011-08-15. Retrieved 2014-02-17.
  31. ^ "Nate Phelps: Ritual Child Sacrifice Is Alive and Well in 21st-Century America". Huffingtonpost.com. 28 June 2013. Retrieved 2014-02-11.
  32. ^ "Phelps' son speaks out 07/23/06". 2007-09-29. Archived from the original on 2007-09-29. Retrieved 2023-04-13.
  33. ^ Adam Withnall (2014-03-16). "Fred Phelps, founder of 'God Hates Fags' Westboro Baptist Church, is 'on edge of death'". The Independent. Archived from the original on March 17, 2014.
  34. ^ Martin Pengelly (2014-03-16). "Fred Phelps Sr, ex-pastor of gay-hating Westboro church, 'close to death'". The Guardian.
  35. ^ Hanna, John. "Anti-gay pastor Fred Phelps, Sr. dies". ABC News.
  36. ^ "Anti-gay Westboro Baptist Church leader Fred Phelps dies". BBC. 20 March 2014. Retrieved 20 March 2014.
  37. ^ Burke, Daniel (20 March 2014). "Westboro church founder Fred Phelps dies". CNN.com. Retrieved 20 March 2014.
  38. ^ Phelps, Nathan. "The Lessons of My Father – Nathan Phelps Speaks Out on Fred Phelps' Death". Recovering From Religion. Recovering From Religion. Retrieved 21 March 2014.
  39. ^ "Board Of Directors". Recovering from Religion. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
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