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Deviant behavior is anything that a person does that is out of the norm. Robbing banks, stealing cars, and assaulting individuals are easily considered deviant behavior, but can people be deviant while still being within their legal rights and without breaking any laws? One congregation that does not break any laws, but is considered to be out-of-line, is the Westboro Baptist Church. The Westboro Baptist Church has been called offensive and their actions are frowned upon by many. Is the Westboro Baptist Church actually a deviant group in disguise?
In order to get to know about the Westboro Baptist Church, a person needs to know a little about who they are, where they came from, and what they represent. The Westboro Baptist Church was created in 1955 by a man named Fred Phelps, in Topeka Kansas, and is considered to follow old school Baptist beliefs (God, 2011). The Westboro membership numbers less than 100 who profess to all of the teachings of the Bible, and preach against every type of sin (God). Uncommonly, the church has no known affiliation to with any other Baptist churches (Parks, 2010). The Westboro members have been known to picket at least six events a day, such as: soldier's funerals, celebrity funerals, homosexual functions, etc. (Parks, 2010).
Signage held by members at these events always include hateful expressions. “God hates fags” and “thank god for dead soldiers” are a few of the signs that people have seen at picketing events (God, 2011). Which is a reflection of their church web site entitled “god hates fags”. Members of the church use several several scriptures from the Bible that discuss homosexuality as sinful for justification of their practices and stance (God, 2011). Accordi...
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... E. (2011). Deviant Behavior (9th Edition). Pearson Education Inc. pg 6
Gregory, S. (2010). The Price Of Free Speech. Time, 1(14), 30.
Jonsson, P. (2011, March 3). What recourse now to Westboro Baptist Church's rude protests?. Christian Science Monitor. p. N. PAG.
Krueger, A. B., & Maleckova, J. (2003). Education, Poverty and Terrorism: Is There a Causal Connection?. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 17(4), 119-44
2010. Parks Facts. Info Facts. Retrieved From:
http://parksfacts.blogspot.com/2010/11/westboro-baptist-church.html
Religious hate crimes down in 2007, says FBI. (2008). Christian Century, 125(24), 16.
Richey, W. (2011, March 2). Supreme Court: 'hurtful speech' of Westboro Baptist Church is protected. Christian Science Monitor. p. N.PAG.
(2011). Who are the Westboro Baptist Church and the Phelps Family? International Business Times.
Deviance is described as “the recognized violation of cultural norms”(Macionis 238). While deviance can include crime, it is not always such. Deviance can mean trying to sneak into a hospital room, desperately searching for someone like the character of Benny in the movie Benny and Joon. Or it could be preforming on the streets for people to watch. Deviance isn’t always a criminal act. The movie Benny and Joon gave several examples of deviant behavior portrayed by the three main characters, Benny, Joon, and Sam.
What is deviance? What does it mean? What determines a behavior as deviant? Deviance is anything that violates a social norm. For example, when a child burps at the supper table but doesn’t excuse himself. Who we socialize and spend time with will determine what we deem as deviant behavior. There are many types of deviant behaviors, some of these behaviors may not be considered deviant to one culture but to another they are.
The court found Westboro Baptist Church liable for millions of dollars on the tort charges of intentional infliction of emotional distress, invasion of privacy, and civil conspiracy. Westboro fought the verdict by claiming it was “grossly excessive
The Westboro Baptist Church was founded by Fred Phelps in Topeka, Kansas, in 1955. The church and its members believe that God hates and punishes the United States for its tolerance of homosexuality, especially in America’s military. For over 20 years, the Westboro Baptist Church have publicized their message and frequently communicate their views by picketing, regularly at military funerals.
The Topeka, Kansas-based Westboro Church is a very small homophobic, anti- Semitic hate group that regularly stages protest around the country. The group first started as a non-profit organization in 1967. The Westboro Baptist Church is made up of its pastor, and some of his children and grandchildren. The Westboro Baptist church is well known for picketing places and or events they see as supporting homosexuals or Jews.
Much of society mistakenly interchanges the two concepts of crime and deviance, assuming that they are one in the same. "A crime is what the law proclaims it to be, and is an act punishable by law" (Winterdyk 9). Deviance, on the other hand, is a contested concept; it can be defined as differing from a norm or accepted standard of society (dictionary.com). Deviance involves acts that fluctuate from social norms; although such actions can be, they are not necessarily against the law (Winterdyk 9).
The Westboro Baptist Church is one of our nation’s most controversial churches. They argue against people for the word of God, the church holds protest against funerals, wedding, and American idols. The church is made up of over 70 people, most of them being family members. The people of the church have their morals and beliefs just like anyone does; the only difference is that their morals are just a little more aggressive than most. Some people believe the church is correct with their preaching’s, but most have the opposite opinion on the matter.
According to a study done by National Youth Association in 2010, 9 out of 10 students in the LGBT community have experienced harassment in school, and over ⅓ of LGBT youth have attempted suicide. More recently, statistics by the Human Rights Campaign (hrc.org) claim that 4 in 10 LGBT youth say that their community is not accepting of LGBT people. In 1998 the Westboro Baptist Church was brought into America’s spotlight when they picketed the funeral of Matthew Shepard, a young man in the LGBT community who had been beaten to death because of his sexuality. Since then, the cruelty of WBC hasn’t ceased to leave many in sickening shock. Bullying, throughout time, has evolved. It’s not just Little Timmy being beaten up for his lunch money anymore. Now, parents are involved. Many religious households raise their children on the beliefs that bullying is A-OK if Little Timmy is a homosexual. Parents ar...
Deviant behavior is sociologically defined as, when someone departs from the “norms”. Most of the time when someone says deviance they think against the law or acting out in a negative behavior. To sociologists it can be both positive and negative. While most crimes are deviant, they are not always. Norms can be classified into two categories, mores and folkways. Mores are informal rules that are not written; when mores are broken, they can have serious punishments and sanctions. Folkways are informal rules that are just expected to be followed, but have no real repercussions.
Homosexual! Deviant! Abomination! Sodomite! Pervert! Vocabulary such as this is used every Sunday in churches across the United States of America. While the majority of believers within a conservative congregation might proudly shout “AMEN!” each time one of these terms is spouted off from behind the pulpit, others cringe as they sink further and further down into their seats. These believers sit quietly and pray that their discomfort isn’t noticeable to others; desperately hoping that the person behind the mask they wear remains undiscovered. For these believers the mask they wear is essential for them to remain a part of a faith community. This scenario is played out in the everyday lives of gay individuals that feel as though they are forced to choose between who they are and what they believe. While some wear a mask and deny their sexuality, others walk away from their faith completely. Each individual that attempts to reconcile their faith with their sexuality has a unique journey, but unfortunately not all have a happy ending.
Deviance is the behavior and the standards of expectations of a group or society. It is also behavior that is considered dangerous, threatening or offensive. The people that are deviant are often labeled to be weirdos, oddballs, or creeps. In the United States, people with tattoos, drug addicts, alcoholics, and compulsive gamblers are all considered deviant. Sociologists believe that everybody is deviant from time to time. They believe each person will violate a social norm in certain situations. People are considered deviant if they don't stand for the national anthem at a sports event, dress casually to a fancy restaurant, or skip classes. One category of deviance is Crime. Crime is a violation of norms that have been formally enacted into a law. Another category of deviance is humorous. Deviance is relative, what is deviant in one group or society may not be deviant in another group or society.
The definition of a cult, as defined by Meriam Webster, is “a small religious group that is not part of a larger and more accepted religion and that has beliefs regarded by many people as extreme or dangerous” or “a religion regarded as unorthodox or spurious” (Websters). Both definitions pertain to the Westboro Baptist Church. Even though Baptist is in their name, they are not affilitated with any Baptist denomination. The two largest Baptist demoninations, The World Baptist Alliance and the Southern Baptist Convention, have denounced the Westoboro Baptist Church (Rubics). So the WBC is not a part of a larger, more accepted religion. As to the second part of the definition, many people view the WBC as extreme. We saw society's view of the WBC in Theroux's documentary. The children did not have friends in school. Megan Phelps-Roper blatenly stated this in the film. Some kids at school specifically avoided them because of their radical beliefs. Megan tried to play it off that she did not want those kids as friends anyway because they are going to Hell, but I could see that their dislike of her and her family did affect her on some deeper level. At protests, people curse and throw trash at the WBC members. The documentary showed one of the younger boys being hit with a full cup. The adults in the church as endangering their children by having them stand on the side of the road and waving around offensive signs. Where ever the WBC protests, large counter protests emerge to show that people oppose the WBC's radical beliefs. Quite a few members of the church find the beliefs radical and that is why they leave.
In sociology, the term deviance refers to all violations of social rules, regardless of their seriousness (Essentials of Sociology 136). Deviance is an individual or organizational behavior that violates societal norms and is usually accompanied by negative reactions from others. According to a sociologist S. Becker, he stated that it is not the act itself that makes an action deviant, but rather how society reacts to it.
Deviance is defined as actions or behaviors that violate socials norms. In turn the concept of deviance is dependent on the social observation and perception. “By it’s very nature, the constructionism through which people define and interpret actions or appearances is always “social.” ”(Henry, 2009 , p. 6) One’s perception of a situation may be completely different from another depending on cultural and social factors. The way someone talks, walks, dresses, and holds themselves are all factors that attribute to how someone perceives another. In some cases what is socially or normally acceptable to one person is deviant in another’s eyes. For this reason there is a lot of gray area involving the topic of deviance because actions and behaviors are so diversely interpreted.
"The ACLU and Freedom of Religion and Belief." American Civil Liberties. (2013): n. page. Web. 2013.