Plot Summary for
Jesus Camp (2006) More at IMDbPro »

Jesus Camp follows several young children as they prepare to attend a summer camp where the kids will get their daily dose of evangelical Christianity. Becky Fischer works at the camp, which is named Kids on Fire. Through interviews with Fischer, the children, and others, Jesus Camp illustrates the unswerving belief of the faithful. A housewife and homeschooling mother tells her son that creationism has all the answers. Footage from inside the camp shows young children weeping and wailing as they promise to stop their sinning. Child after child is driven to tears. Juxtapose these scenes with clips from a more moderate Christian radio host (who is appalled by such tactics), and Jesus Camp seems to pose a clear question: are these children being brainwashed? Written by Ken Miller {wkmiller704@yahoo.com}

Becky Fischer is a Pentacostal minister who holds Evangelical Christian conferences and camps, the latter called "Kids on Fire" which are held in Devil's Lake, North Dakota. She holds the camps in the hopes of teaching Evangelical Christian children to lay down their life for God. She equates her philosophy to that of extremist Muslims teaching children literally to fight in the name of Islam, but with 'the right' message. She teaches the children at the camps to be outspoken in their beliefs with a passionate fervor, all in the name of Jesus Christ. Topics presented include the evils of Harry Potter (in Old Testament times, he would have been put to death for being a warlock), the waste of dead churches (where there is no passion in the praising of Jesus), the evils of abortion, and Evangelical Christians taking back government in the United States. The camp attendees soak up the messages like sponges as she is preaching to the converted. Her events are played out against the backdrop of the George W. Bush presidency, he who speaks to Ted Haggard, the leader of the National Association of Evangelicals, on a weekly basis. Christian radio host Mike Papantonio, who is non-Evangelical, provides his views of what he considers Fischer's indoctrination process, and especially the harm he sees in blurring the line between church and state. Written by Huggo

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