Jesus Camp
At Becky Fischer's Kids on Fire summer camp in Devils Lake, North Dakota, children speak in tongues, weep over abortion, and pray over a cardboard cutout of George W. Bush. Fischer runs the camp like a boot camp for young evangelicals, telling parents and campers alike that she wants to raise up a generation as committed to their faith as young jihadists are to theirs, a line the film lets sit without comment. Directors Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady follow several kids, including Levi, a homeschooled boy who dreams of becoming a preacher, through sermons, worship sessions, and one-on-one confessions where camp leaders press them about sin. Radio host Mike Papantonio, an evangelical Christian himself, appears throughout as a skeptical counterpoint, arguing on air that mixing children with politics and hardline theology crosses a line. The film never editorializes directly, cutting between camp footage and Papantonio's objections and leaving the viewer to judge what they are watching: religious education, indoctrination, or something in between.