Lauren Drain, a popular fitness model and social media darling, recently revealed the circumstances of her escape from the Westboro Baptist Church, which is well-known both inside and outside the US for its inflammatory speech and eagerness to antagonise various religious and ethnic groups, and even whole countries.
Drain became a member of the church after her father joined while working on a documentary about it called "The Most Hated Family in America", and remained an adherent from 2001 until 2008, when she was excommunicated for challenging its doctrine.
"I did try and have many spiritual and biblical discussions regarding things I did not agree with but they were unwilling to discuss or hear," she said in an interview with The Daily Star.
As Drain explained, she didn’t want to leave her family, but her parents decided to kick her out due to her "unwillingness to follow their man-made rules regarding their religion".
"I knew from reading the Bible for seven years straight that it was wrong to judge and condemn others and was unwilling to budge on treating people that way," Drain explained. "I was also unwilling to have an arranged marriage or stay single when the Bible clearly says it is better to marry than to burn [in hell]".
In 2013, Drain also penned a book called "Banished: Surviving My Years in the Westboro Baptist Church", describing her experience as a member of the controversial church.