Religion

Religion is one of the central themes in Unfollow, as the author's life has been defined by her association with the Westboro Baptist Church, whose teachings she followed zealously until she began to question them when she was 25 years old. Westboro members believe in biblical literalism—that Scripture should be interpreted and followed literally and precisely. They believed their interpretations were infallible, and that anyone who did not follow them was destined for an eternity in hell. The author recalls one formative moment in particular that echoes throughout the memoir: her mother's explanation of the story of Jacob and Esau. Westboro members believe that God loved Jacob and hated Esau, for absolutely no reason other than capricious favoritism, and that this distinction symbolizes the two types of people in the world—those that follow God's word perfectly and will be rewarded with heaven, and those who fail to...