Reporter Jeff Chu reports that Megan Phelps-Roper, 27, has defected from the infamous Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kansas, most notable 
for it’s “God Hates Fags” and “God Hates America” (for supporting gays) signs that they wave at protests. This is a phenomenal story that everyone should read, because it shows the difficult road one must often take to escape authoritarian forms of fundamentalism. For example, one can see the wheels turning in Megan’s head, as she learns examine her belief system and think for herself for the first time.
Now that those boundaries are gone, “I’m trying to figure out which ones were good and smart, and which ones shouldn’t be there anymore,” she says. “I don’t feel confident at all in my beliefs about God. That’s definitely scary. But I don’t believe anymore that God hates almost all of mankind. I don’t think that, if you do everything else in your life right and you happen to be gay, you’re automatically going to hell. I don’t believe anymore that WBC has a monopoly on truth.”
We wish Megan luck on what must be an excruciatingly difficult, but ultimately satisfying, journey to her new life in the real world.
