Jesus Camp

Jesus Camp is a film that depicts the lifestyles and opinions of a group of devout Evangelical Christians in Missouri. From what I saw, the film’s main points were that there should not be a separation between religion and state, that Evangelical children should be raised as devout as Islam’s children, and was also simply to show the lifestyles and beliefs of the people depicted in the film. The film portrays these points in many different ways, focusing on the views of a children’s priest along with a few kids and their families.

The way they talk about how Christian-Judeo beliefs are the only religions that are morally right really bothered me because I believe that this teaches their children to be close minded about others beliefs. For me this film did not exactly shed a positive light on the people portrayed, because I believe that everyone is entitled to their own beliefs and that we should work, live and love each other despite the religion we choose to practice, the God we choose to pray to, or even if we choose not to believe in anything at all. It really bothered me when the boy in the film said that he was bothered and disturbed when someone who didn’t believe in Jesus Christ spoke to him and when the Children’s priest said she could go to a playground and convert non-Christian children within minutes.

I was brought up in a very open minded household since my dad is Jewish and my mom is Christian, which is maybe why I take some offense to those who are closed minded when it comes to religion. I am in no way saying that what the people depicted in the film believe and how they practice their beliefs is wrong, I just feel that this film was saying that if you don’t believe in Jesus Christ you are morally wrong and should convert. I think when we teach our children what to believe we should also teach them to be open minded and sensitive to others beliefs too.