The movie Jesus Camp is an interesting video about religionand politics in today’s society.  Atfirst there was no separation between church and state, and then it became veryprominent until recently politics become intertwined with religious views.  There was very little separation in the movie;Evangelical Christians were pushing their views and beliefs on children of the same faith.  Pastor Becky was one whoreally struck me as a radical leader. She was constantly pushing the students to be soldiers of God and taketheir religion to an extreme.  Thechildren were not allowed to believe in ghost stories
because they arefalse.  Small ideas like that made theidea that their country would fall apart if not everybody was ethical and honest.  The problem with this is peoplehave different morals and different views on issues like abortion and gay marriage.  Thomas Jefferson wantedcomplete church and state separation and this Jesus Camp preached theopposite.  The way the
leaders instructed the children it was like they were building a bunch of soldiers to fight the rest of the words ideas and opinions about religion. I do not think there will ever be a complete separation but implementing it into teaching is not going to help, it’s making the connection stronger. 

The documentary Jesus Camp was quite interesting and eye opening to me.  The radio announcer at the beginning was discussing the fact that religion has become too intertwined within the political system and the film proves that to be very true.  The children in the film seemed to be almost brainwashed in a way into thinking how the church leaders have told them to since the first sermon they attended.  Choice does not seem to be much of an option in this camp, the only choice you would be welcome in having is that of choosing Jesus as your savior.  If the campers weren’t to choose that then they would be called sinners or would be ridiculed enough to give into the pressure.  Jefferson would not be happy with how the evangelists are portrayed in this film.  He would not support the supremacy antics of these Christians that are trying to make America a religiously based nation.  Jefferson was the one that instated the first amendment, and everything that these people are doing goes against that.  In the end part of the documentary one of the campers, Levi, goes to a mega-church sermon led by a man known as Haggard.  That man met with George Bush and his advisors weekly to help with decisions.  Haggard said that the power of the evangelical Christians is immense.  If they were all to vote in an election, they could easily sway an election one way or another.  That statement terrified me because what does that mean for every other American voting?  Does that mean that they have no say at all anymore?  These are serious questions to be asked when statements like that are made.  The most important issues raised in this documentary are the separation of church and state and the power of religious groups in political affairs.  The separation of church and state was put in place for a reason and some religious groups think that it is a stab at their religion for not being able to practice certain things in school or not be able to have group prayer in school.  These rules were put in place to keep the educational environment one free of any biased views, religion, or discrimination.  Overall this documentary was very intriguing and I enjoyed watching it, even if I didn’t agree with anything that was happening in it.    

The movie Jesus Camp opens up with a radio announcer describing how there is a growing blend between religion and politics.  Unlike Thomas Jefferson’s views, the separation between church and state is decreasing more and more.  Thomas Jefferson proposed the idea of the “wall of separation” meaning that it is necessary for there to be a separation between church and state in the United States.  This allows for people to worship freely without persecution from the state.  Jesus Camp was a movie about Evangelical Christian children who are very open with their views and opinions about Jesus and what we are to be like as Christian believers.  The pastor Becky was very strong in her opinions about how the church and state should not be separate.  During her “preaching,” she exclaims how George Bush is such a good man as president because he is so open about his faith.  Although personally I agree with George Bush’s particular views and beliefs, others do not.  Many people (including myself) believe that the church and state should still be separate and a president’s particular opinion should not conflict with the large variety of beliefs held throughout the nation.  One particular point that caught me off guard was when the children were told to smash the mugs with a hammer.  This was used to represent the terrible things the government and nation was doing.  This seems to go against what pastor Becky was exclaiming.  She was such a strong supporter of teaching the children at a young age how to be soldiers of God and go out into the nation and teach.  Even though I may share some similarities of opinions with pastor Becky, I believe that much of what she was teaching the children was fake.  As Becky describes in an interview, children are very easy to teach and learn easily.  The teaching methods Becky used seem to almost pressure the children into having these “life changing” connections with God.  Although I believe it is possible, much of what I saw in the movie seemed false.  The children seemed to be taken off their feet by Becky’s ways of teaching and just complied with what she told them to do (much like a cult).  The children spoke in tongues, cried, and even shook violently on the floor.  It was scary how the kids were acting and reminded me almost as people that were acting.  In the end, the movie showed an inside view of the way many Christians live their lives.  For politicians, the need for American votes is ever present.  Because religion is so intertwined in our lives, it is nearly impossible for political leaders to completely separate church from state. 

Jesus Camp described the various points of entanglement between religion and politics.  The documentary featured Becky Fisher, a teacher, who works with children who attend a camp in North Dakota.  The children are considered to be training soldiers in “God’s Army”.  I found it honestly frightening to see the children in the documentary falling to the floor in ecstasy and speaking in tongues when Fisher told them too.  I think that children who follow Christianity is a wonderful thing to be involved with, but I do not agree that children should be involved with it when it deals with politics.  I obviously noticed that this view of how the country should be run is very different from the view that Thomas Jefferson had.  It doesn’t seem possible that the United States could run as a Christian nation, because that is not how it has ever been.  The point of freedom of religion is that anyone, anywhere is allowed to follow whichever religion they feel right doing.  If enough of these people form together then thinking this way becomes more of a forceful way of thinking rather than freedom.  In this sense, I feel that there is a reason to have separation of church and state. 

The documentary Jesus Camp is a large step from the information we had previously been looking at from Thomas Jefferson and the ideas of Giroux. This movie is in many ways trying to entangle religion into politics, something Jefferson would not be happy to see. Jefferson was a huge advocate for separation between Church and State and letting the decision be an individual one. Throughout the documentary it becomes apparent that the Evangelical Christians have a negative feeling towards the government over-all. If there were truly a separation to these Evangelicals between Church and State there would be no need to stress or worry about who was going to be in charge of the country. They also spent time raving over George Bush and talking about how he was pushing the country in the right direction in regards to religion.  Jefferson would be furious if he would have heard the Evangelicals talking this way. The mother towards the beginning of the video also raised an interesting argument about the government; she believed that putting her children in school to be taught by other people was going against God’s role for her as a mother. In a sense saying that that she didn’t trust the government run schools to teach her children. I don’t necessarily think homeschooling is wrong but her motives behind taking her kids out of school are wrong. Another issue that stood out to me was during the camp when Pastor Becky brought someone in to talk to the children about abortion and making them feel guilty about it and told them it was their fault and they needed to stop it. She is trying to get these young children to carry the weight of decisions that are made by adults much older then them, these children should not even know about abortions at this age. I found it disturbing that one of the pastors at the end mentioned that so many of these Churches have been formed lately. To me it seems like the Evangelical Christians are trying to go back to times before separation of Church and State. They believe if you don’t agree with them you are wrong and they need to “save” you. Jefferson and Giroux would be very disturbed by these actions and thoughts. 

The film and directors’ interviews in the Jesus Camp video address the point of the entanglement of religion and politics as a characteristic feature of our age by showing everything through the eyes of Becky Fisher and the children at the Christian camp. Yes, I have seen people speak in tongues but it was nothing like seeing how the kids in the video do and how they cried while they were praying. The part that stuck out the most was when they were teaching the kids about abortion and pretty much teaching them how to get involved in politics so that they can help stop all of the abortions. I feel that kids that young should not be taught about abortion and I don’t understand how kids that young can fully understand what’s going on with politics and abortion. Another way that they addressed the point of politics was when they showed the kids crying and smashing the cups because it’s God’s enemy. This interferes with what Jefferson believed because he felt that religion and politics should be separate. He believed in being able to practice your own religion, but that the two should never be combined.   The most important issues that the documentary raised for me comes from the reading on Jesus Camp where Becky Fischer talks about how as many as half of the men who signed our constitution were ministers or Christian leaders, and how this gives the whole separation of church and state a “black eye” (15-16). She also went on to say that who better to speak out for Christian values that our nation was founded on than those who know the scripture well. I think that keeping the church and state separate are hard to do sometimes and I agree with Becky when she brought up the point above. One last thing that stuck out was when they put up a cardboard cutout of George Bush in front of the kids and had them praying for him. I again don’t understand what kids that young know about things like that and do they really fully understand what they are praying for? I think that some of these kids were almost taught what to say and do and were never given any choice and they were never given a chance to live a “normal” life like every child should.  

    Frankly, Jesus Camp scares me.  It makes me anxious to see that suchextremists (in my opinion) exist today and especially in this country.  And even scarier to me is the thought that they very well could have an influence on the way this country functions.  By sheer numbers alone, they have a great influence on governmental issues.  They can force their views and opinions on others by pure force because they have a large group and believe strongly in their message.  They believe that people in this country should arm their children with weapons and purpose like extremists do in the Middle East.  I find this extremely alarming.  We are long past the days of crusades and the like.  Plus, this is supposed to be a country that offers freedom of religion to all of its citizens.  If people like the ones in this documentary continue their iron hold on the government, how can that be possible?  They are calling for a Christian nation, and that is not what the United States is.  The founding fathers would frown upon this behavior.  They did not want a nation where people were forced to be something they were not.  By grouping together and using the quantity of their followers, these people are going against the very nature of our foundation.  By forcing one way of thinking upon people in the government, they are taking away the basis of our idea of freedom.  I think that with people like the ones shown present as far as politics go, this country is in serious danger of becoming a theocracy.  There is barely any separation between church and state as it is, and these Christian extremists are simply another form of terrorism as far as I am concerned.

    The video Jesus Camp uncovered an interesting aspect of the various differences in religion and the relationship between church and state. After looking at how entangled religion and politics are today it seems that the radio announcer could be right. The actions of people in Jesus Camp may have seemed extreme and radical, but to them it is completely normal. For instance, it seems odd to others that evangelical’s do not allow their children to tell ghost stories because they do not support the truth. Their ideology doesn’t allow them to know anything different from their “norm”. The minister even says that children do not learn by choice and that they do not have a choice in life. Another aspect I found very controversial was how the minister told the children that the cost of abortion fell onto their shoulders and practically placed blame on them. An interesting point was brought up in the movie that if a country does not have central morals then it will indefinitely fall apart. This country was founded on religious morals, so it seems to make sense that the central morals for the United States of America be those with religious weight. However, people can interpret and teach these morals in different ways. The evangelicals in Jesus Campsupported the government, but at the same time thought that parts were corrupted and needed to be “corrected” by putting the “right” people in powerful positions. Lots of people both political and theological have different views on religion. Jefferson believed that there is more than one view and he felt strongly about religious freedom. Fisk thought we should be curious about religion and to ask questions about our faith when compared to history. Giroux highlights that Jefferson’s thoughts about separation between church and state were compromised. Whether you are training an “Army of God,” fighting for religious rights or a weekly church goer each person has their own opinion about the separation or combination of church and state. Who knows if this discussion will ever end or whether this is as much a part of our country’s history as religion itself?

Jesus Camp raises an interesting ongoing debate about the idea of church and state. The radio announcer in the film says that religion is too entangled in politics. He claims that it is a common feature of our political era, and one that needs to be changed. This is just the opposite of what both Thomas Jefferson and Giroux believe in. They believe that in order to have a successful government, there must be a separation. The people in Jesus camp were leading a push to get the “right people” in government (right people meaning conservative, Christian, and republican). They felt that George Bush was a perfect man for the job because he had the same views on important issues to the group, and he was very open about his faith. I personally feel like religion will always play some sort of role in politics in this country. Many people have strong beliefs on certain issues such as abortion, gay marriage, etc. Religion normally plays a role in people’s views on these topics. Therefore they are more
likely to vote for someone that has the same beliefs. That is exactly what the people in the film did. I think that religious groups like this will always play a role in politics. Pastor Betty claimed in the film that if all Evangelical Christians voted, they could essentially get who they wanted in office. I also feel like that religion plays too important of a role in American life for it to be ignored by politicians. Therefore, they have to address it in some way usually by proclaiming their personal faith and religious views. 

        The beliefs demonstrated by the workers of the camp in the movie Jesus Camp is very much contradictory of the beliefs help by Thomas Jefferson and Henry A. Giroux. For those involved in Jesus Camp, it is as if Christianity takes the place of the government. During the camp, the kids are shown crushing the “cups of government” demonstrating the lack of respect that the group has for government in general. At another point in the movie, a family of homeschooled children say the Christian Pledge of Allegiance and a pledge to the Bible, however the American Pledge of Allegiance is missing from their routine. What I found particularly strange about this is that the camera kept flashing to a picture of a man (who can be assumed to be their father) in a military uniform. It is both odd and ironic that the family of a man who serves to protect the government refuses to pledge allegiance to it. However, despite all this lack of respect for the government, the members of the camp are shown “worshipping” a cardboard cutout of George Bush during a church service. Instead of respecting Bush as a political leader, they idolize him and treat him as a holy figure sent from God. 
        As the radio announcer acknowledges during Jesus Camp, religion and politics are very much intertwined in today’s age. Thomas Jefferson would be disappointed in the turn that America has taken, especially since he introduced the idea of the “Wall of Separation” between church and state. The fact that Christianity and evangelicals played such a huge role in the election of presidents such as Reagan and Bush would not settle well with Jefferson. Jefferson would agree with Giroux in that “absolute moralism, when mixed with politics, produces zealots who believe they have a monopoly on the truth and a legitimate rationale for refusing to engage ambiguities, but that it also fuels an intolerance toward others who do not follow the scripted, righteous path of officially sanctioned beliefs and behavior” (270). It is not just Christianity that Jefferson and Giroux want out of politics, it is all religion. However, at this point in America, Christianity is the religion that has infiltrated the government. So when people fight for the separation of church and state, I think that many Christians take it as a personal attack, though generally this is not the case. I think that many Christians would fight for the same thing if another religion suddenly became entangled in the government.