I recently learned that BBC documentarian Louis Theroux revisited the Westboro Baptist Church for an hour-long documentary, America’s Most Hated Family in Crisis, which aired just a couple of months ago. It’s a follow-up to the 2007 documentary, The Most Hated Family in America.
Here’s a link to a youtube playlist which includes all parts of the newest documentary (it’s broken into four 15-min. long videos). I can’t recommend it enough. It provides a unique glimpse into the private lives of one of the most infamous and absurd religious cults in the country. A number of things have changed since Louis visited them 4 year ago. Their views seem to have gotten even more extreme and insane, including new beliefs about the imminent end of the world. They’ve lost a number of church members, including one who Louis interviews (24-year-old Lauren). They’re also a bit more hostile towards Louis this time around — at one point, one of the church members casually refers to him as a “jackweasel.” Altogether, it provides an enlightening — and troubling — portrait of a fringe religious group coping with changing circumstances and ongoing defections. Again, I can’t recommend it enough (same goes for the first one, if you haven’t seen it yet).
