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Pastor Becky Fischer, Levi, Mike Papantonio, Rachael, Tory

The youngest foot soldiers for the Lord are shown in their native environment in this documentary. Becky Fischer is a children's pastor who runs "Kids on Fire," a summer camp for evangelical Christian... read more read more... children in North Dakota. Fischer believes in the political and moral importance of a Christian presence in America, and uses her camp to reinforce the religious training most of her charges are already receiving at home (the majority of the campers are home-schooled by their parents). Using video games, animated videos, and group activities to help put her message across, Fischer encourages the kids to pray for George W. Bush and his Supreme Court appointees while urging them to help "take back America for Christ." For the most part, the children seem reasonably ordinary beyond the fact they pray with uncommon fervor and sometimes speak in tongues. Along with Fischer and her cohorts, Jesus Camp features interviews with Ted Haggard, an evangelist and advisor to George W. Bush, and Mike Papantonio, a Christian talk-show host who believes the right-wing slant of many Christian evangelists is taking the church into a dangerous direction. Jesus Camp was directed by Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady, who previously made the acclaimed The Boys of Baraka. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

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76% liked it

65,149 ratings

Critics

87% liked it

98 critics

PG-13, 1 hr. 26 min.

Directed by: Heidi Ewing, Rachel Grady, Mike Papantonio

Release Date: September 15, 2006

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DVD Release Date: January 23, 2007

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Stats: 6,383 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (6,383)

  • SirPant
    February 27, 2012
    SirPant
    Jesus Camp isn't a groundbreaking documentary in the sense that it uncovers something that is completely unknown or that it openly challenges its subject. Everyone in the film seemed to be quite happy to contribute to the filming so this must have been a pretty easy day in the of... read morefice for Heidi Ewing, Rachel Grady, Mike Papantonio etc. Not that I'm taking anything away from them, their obvious restraint must have taken a lot of will power and it the most effective part of the film - but then you'd have to be one of the deluded not to see the delusion for yourself - this is the film's real strength. I also liked the fact that the opposing 'voice of reason' was from a Christian, one that goes to a real church and believes religion and politics are two very different things. I'm an atheist and against all religion - I don't have a soapbox to stand on and I have friends of all faiths, it's just something I don't agree with. We atheists don't 'high-five' each other each time one of these documentaries comes out. It's fair to say this film was never going to reveal to me anything I didn't already know, it's preaching to the converted - However, being raised a Catholic, I know a little bit about the Bible and I had often wondered how these middle-American (there are some in the UK too) Evangelical churches work, how they have twisted the Bible's words and to what extent the delusion goes. I was still shocked and appalled and I think it's a good thing that this film is out there. When you make a racist homophobic ex-Nazi look good you just know you've backed the wrong horse. Should I add this film to my greatest horrors list too I wonder?
  • djdemersseman
    December 24, 2011
    djdemersseman
    Having gone through 20+ years of Evangelical indoctrination, I found this film scarily accurate and disturbing. Much of that disturbing aura derived from the film's presentation, in how its subject matter is presented nearly commentary-free and how what commentary it presents is ... read moremostly rather subtle. That said, it's not an easy watch.
  • purplemegan
    December 7, 2011
    purplemegan
    I knew this movie was going to make me angry before I even watched it.
  • imrealgod
    November 5, 2011
    imrealgod
    Christ wept when he came to know that I'd been subject to this piece of shit. It's devastating to know that this sheer nonsense was nominated for Oscars. The fact that it was so much successful is more disturbing than watching this rubbish documentary. Amen.
  • StarCrossedVoyager
    October 23, 2011
    StarCrossedVoyager
    Funny and interesting in the way it shows these people however I can see it being slightly offensive to them which is wrong of the filmmaker. They're clearly biased but in a way these people mark themselves as victims with this over the top behaviour. An eye opener, certainly.
  • fernandorafael
    October 22, 2011
    fernandorafael
    Jesus Camp has the unique power to be hilarious (that song, "Who's in the House" by Carman, is funny as hell) but also utterly enraging: the indoctrination, the shunning of traditional education over close-minded homeschooling, the claim that global warming is a lie! Heidi Ewing ... read moreand Rachel Grady let their subjects and their actions speak for themselves and what they've captured is incredible.
  • FrizzDrop
    May 29, 2011
    FrizzDrop
    You don't need to be a liberal to love this movie, but it certainly helps. Centering on an Evangelical summer camp for children, Jesus Camp is in no way an "in your face" documentary." Instead of slapping in liberal politics or even jokes on the documentary's subjects, the film l... read moreets you draw most of your own conclusions. The film is topped off by an Air America host during his broadcast, full of commentary on America's fundamentalist sectors seeping into the general politics of the country, including a nomination of a Supreme Court Justice, showing both halves of the debate. Jesus Camp doesn't need interviews or narration, because everything you find wrong with the issues of the film are readily shown. Even Pastor Becky admits her cause is indoctrinating children to become a type of God's army, hell-bent on converting a nation and changing the Eco-political boundaries of our country for the worst of reasons. There were many tough scenes to get through; watching a type of societally acceptable cult change the way America is run, based on little more than a warped sense of entitlement. This film is both enjoyable and painfully educational, revealing that we're in a heap of trouble if this small slice of Americana becomes the whole pie.
  • LoughnerWasLucid
    December 26, 2010
    LoughnerWasLucid
    one of the most honest documentaries ive seen. and i know that honesty is kinda the point of a documentary but this is just... totally how it is. highlights include the "holy ghost hammer" that the kids are given to smash dishes marked "government", and the pastor woman praying f... read moreor god to "not let the power go out due to a storm, and to stop microphone difficulties in Jesus name", and the kids crossing the street to approach three old black men and ask them "if you died right now, where do think you would end up?" when one of them answers quickly and confidently, "heaven" and she asks if he is sure. then after he says "yea, im sure", its amazing to see the child so totally shocked. she cant think of a thing to say, so the kids just walk away. so fast that they almost get hit by a car. I also noticed during the movie and in real life at church that alot of these people, while speaking in tongues, will say this: HAKASHEEKATANICO BAHAYA! thats all. i have nothing to say about that. just wondered why so many people will use that one. i need to buy a pentecostal to english dictionary so i can figure out what hakasheekatanico bahaya means. anyway, no matter what you believe, just please watch this. (in the name of jesus, watch this film!)
  • rjayhutchinson
    July 30, 2010
    rjayhutchinson
    Though it occasionally feels one-sided and in the end feels somewhat incomplete, this film effectively accomplishes its goal of pissing off the viewer.
  • ScoopOnline
    December 18, 2009
    ScoopOnline
    I dont have against any religions in this World, but the thing with sect bothers me. When the Kids grow up they are either disturbed and fully isolate themselves.
    This Documentary reminds me of someone I use to know. It is so sad what people do in the name of the God.
    When the... read more Adults go wacko the innocent Children suffer under the Madness of the people who are suppose to protect them and not abuse them.

View All Jesus Camp Reviews

Critic Reviews

Carrie Rickey
October 13, 2006
Carrie Rickey, Philadelphia Inquirer

No matter your religious or political affiliation (or lack thereof), this supremely even-handed documentary from Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady is cinematic dynamite.

Bruce Westbrook
October 13, 2006
Bruce Westbrook, Houston Chronicle

Perhaps indoctrination is in the eye of the beholder. But one thing is certain: All Christians aren't the same. I'm one, and I found this film to be saddening, not heartening. Full Review

Richard Roeper
October 9, 2006
Richard Roeper, Ebert & Roeper

I spent a lot of years studying the teachings of Jesus in Catholic grammar school, and I think Jesus would be appalled by what goes on in the these camps. Full Review

James Berardinelli
October 7, 2006
James Berardinelli, ReelViews

Both disturbing and enlightening. Full Review

Richard Schickel
October 6, 2006
Richard Schickel, TIME Magazine

Jesus Camp seems to me most interesting (and poignant) as a portrait of denied and even desecrated childhood. Full Review

Terry Lawson
October 6, 2006
Terry Lawson, Detroit Free Press

Jesus Camp does what documentaries ought to do: It poses serious questions, then steps out of the argument. Full Review

Robert Denerstein
October 6, 2006
Robert Denerstein, Denver Rocky Mountain News

The overlap of politics and religion is precisely what gives the film an interest beyond the curious practices with which some parents raise their children.

Lisa Kennedy
October 6, 2006
Lisa Kennedy, Denver Post

One of those documentaries so well crafted you should wonder what was left on the cutting-room floor. Full Review

Wesley Morris
October 6, 2006
Wesley Morris, Boston Globe

It might be too much to ask for a little more diversity in the movie's subjects. Aren't there any boring, conventionally innocent kids marching in God's army? Full Review

Colin Covert
October 5, 2006
Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune

Directors Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady let the details speak for themselves.

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