Sep 29 2006
Jesus Camp
GUESTS: Rachel Grady one of the film makers of Jesus Camp
Jesus Camp is a new documentary by film makers Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady that looks into the often disturbing world of evangelical indoctrination of children in middle America. With incredible access to a community follow three children, Levi, Rachael, and Tory as they head to a Bible summer camp called “Kids on Fire.” Becky Fisher, a children’s pastor who runs the camp is unabashed about the indoctrination of young children who she hopes will grow up to continue a right wing legacy in the US and win the so-called culture war. From overturning abortion, to supporting President Bush and the state of Israel, to debunking the science of global warming and evolution, Jesus Camp is a wake up call to anyone who underestimates the political power of the Christian right. The film opens this evening in Los Angeles, Pasadena, and Orange County.
For more information, visit www.jesuscampthemovie.com.
Jesus Camp will open on Friday September 29 at the Laemmle’s Sunset 5 in Los Angeles, Playhouse 7 in Pasadena, Town Center 5 in Encino, and in Orange County at the Century Theater’s Stadium Promenade 25.
5 Responses to “Jesus Camp”
Thank you for bringing this film to my attention. We saw this film last night (Friday) in Santa Ana at the 10 PM showing with 150 peope in attendance.
Although the film, at times, is an uncomfortable viewing due to the content on the screen, this film is a must-see with American citizens to do their constitutional duty be vigilant of the systematic deconstruction of the separation of church and state.
I have to comment on the references made to homeschooling in this segment. The statistic Rachel Grady gave of “75% of homeschooled children are from evangelical christian families” put up red flags for me.
I homeschool my child and am part of a large and diverse group of Los Angeles homeschoolers, some are Christian, and these vary from Unitarians to a few fundamentalists. Many of us are not Christian at all. My experience tells me that, even in the Bible belt, 75% must be too high a number, so I did some of my own research.
The National Center for Education Statistics, part of the US Department of Education released a report
in February of this year finding that in 2003—the most recent year for which data are available, saying:
“Similarly to previous years, 31 percent of homeschooling parents say concerns about school environment, safety, or peer pressure led them to homeschool, and 30 percent cited religious or moral reasons” http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2006/homeschool/
I would bet as well that, of that 30 percent, many do not identify as evangelicals.
While I agree that the film sounds scary, and I too worry about right wing fundamentalists brainwashing a new generation to march for their causes, I must let you know that homeschooling has another face.
Thanks for all you do to educate and challenge us.
I heard about this film via Alternet and had a hard time dealing with just the clips you aired and the trailer itself. As an ex-fundie, I grew up under that intense coercive manipulative environment and I suffered severe abuse in that religious sect. I had to see a doctor later that day after the show. These people are not benign, they are not harmless, they are not folks anyone can partner with or negotiate with. These are as intractable as any other extremists, and should be dealt with with extreme caution, sufficient training in cult tactics, etc. I’m grateful to Sonali for airing this and to the filmmakers, though I feel the latter are very naive indeed. I wish there could be a smaller screening for former victims of the Jesus Camp ilk so we could watch this film with therapists and talk together in confidence to heal. The fact that Evangelicals are “mainstream” now makes daily life for former fundamentalists extremely difficult.
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