Synopsis
Jesus Camp is a Christian summer camp where children hone their "prophetic gifts" and are schooled in how to "take back America for Christ". The film is a first-ever look into an intense training ground that recruits born-again Christian children to become an active part of America's political future.
Your Movie Library
Cast
- Becky FischerSelf
- Mike PapantonioSelf
- Ted HaggardSelf
- Lou EngleSelf
Recommendations
- 88
TV Guide Magazine
The fact that Pastor Fischer would probably consider the film an accurate portrayal of her mission may be the most terrifying thing of all. - 75
Premiere
Doesn't function particularly well as a documentary; it lacks a strong editorial point of view and doesn't really comment on the evangelical movement so much as it just portrays a selection of people and their views. - 75
New York Daily News
What most interests the directors is the way young minds are shaped by adults with clear moral and political agendas. - 70
The Hollywood Reporter
A fascinating glimpse of kids' role in the evangelical movement's political agenda. - 70
The New York Times
Jesus Camp doesn't pretend to be a comprehensive survey of the charismatic-evangelical phenomenon. It offers no history or sociology and only scattered statistics about its growth. It analyzes the political agenda only glancingly, centering on abortion but not on homosexuality or other items. - 60
New York Magazine (Vulture)
A frightening, infuriating, yet profoundly compassionate documentary about the indoctrination of children by the Evangelical right. - 58
The A.V. Club
Why do Ewing and Grady feel the need to tip their hand by underscoring it all with creepy ambient music or by using Air America host Mike Papantonio as a Greek Chorus expressing the voice of reason? - 50
Variety
May shock many viewers, especially political liberals.
