They may be a hate group but they are definitely religious.
Check out the IAmA of a former member:
"""
Very little I miss. It was so destructive and took years to undue. I have talked about the sense of security and belonging I can recall feeling from time to time when we were having church services on Sunday evenings. Something about being tucked in that building that's half buried and feeling like we're the only one's that god loves...it's hard to articulate.
"""
Indeed. To use an example more familiar to the HN crowd, one can criticize free software fanatics like RMS without disparaging free software itself, or those who promote it.
Agreed, because religion, like technology, is a pure force for good that could not possibly be exploited for nefarious purposes. I bet if you asked a WBC member they would actually be uncertain and confused about their faith! It's not like the organization actually mirrors the power structure of pastor explaining a holy text to his flock.
(Sarcasm aside, its totally possible for a word like "religion" to contain contradictions and you aren't adding anything to the debate with a claim about who is "actually religious" and who is "guised as religious". If they claim it it's theirs.)
I know "if you ignore them, they will go away" is cliche, but it's really true for WBC. Don't organize counter-protests, just ignore them completely, and they will evaporate into the ether.
You made a typo when you meant to type "I've got no patience for people rightfully insulting a group of people spreading hate" and seemed to have typed some nonsense instead.
No true scotsman, good to see that's still being touted. I'm going to go out on a limb and guess you've never even bothered to read their FAQ because no one would make the silly mistake of implying that their preaching comes from anything but religion.
Check out the IAmA of a former member:
""" Very little I miss. It was so destructive and took years to undue. I have talked about the sense of security and belonging I can recall feeling from time to time when we were having church services on Sunday evenings. Something about being tucked in that building that's half buried and feeling like we're the only one's that god loves...it's hard to articulate. """
http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/v99eg/iaman_exmember_o...