Jesus Camp

â€Å"Jesus Camp† A growing number of Evangelical Christians believe there is a revival underway in America that requires Christian youth to assume leadership roles in advocating the causes of their religious movement. â€Å"Jesus Camp† follows three home-schooled Missouri kids—12-year-old mullet-haired Levi, who was saved at 5; 10-year-old soldier's daughter Tory, who loves dancing to Christian heavy metal; and 9-year-old Rachael, who breathlessly approaches strangers to talk about Christ—to Pastor Becky Fischer’s â€Å"Kids on Fire† summer camp in Devil’s Lake, North Dakota. At this camp, kids as young as six years old are taught to become dedicated Christian soldiers in â€Å"God’s army. † The film follows these children at camp as they hone their â€Å"prophetic gifts† and are taught how to â€Å"take back America for Christ. † Wielding everything from PowerPoint to plush toys to illustrate the wages of sin, the impassioned Fischer has a clear-eyed view of children as malleable material, ripe for the inculcating. When they are not speaking in tongues, pledging allegiance to the Christian flag, or blessing a cardboard cutout of George W. Bush, the kids rally round to hear Fischer and others entreat them to â€Å"join the war,† â€Å"fix the sick world,† and fight abortion. The film looks into an intense training ground that recruits born-again Christian children to become an active part of America’s political future. The fundamentalist revival is a concept that can be associated with â€Å"Jesus Camp. † While many of the large, mainline churches have lost members, other churches (such as the Evangelical Christian churches) have gained members. Contrary to mainline Protestants, Evangelical Christians emphasize a literal interpretation of the Bible. They also stress emotional demonstrativeness rather than quiet, inward devotion at church services (Thio, 2007, pp. 354). For instance, the kids who attended â€Å"Kids on Fire† summer camp spoke in tongues, pledged allegiance to the Christian flag, and blessed a cardboard cutout of George W. Bush instead of quietly praying during church services. Bibliography Thio, Alex. 2007. Society Myths and Realities; An Introduction to Sociology. Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon.