Jesus Camp Speaks More of Society than Fanatical Religion
Published January 05, 2008
When one's freedom to practice their religion becomes a violation of the law — as sanctioned by the very people who support freedom of religion — then it is no longer a religious issue and is now only — I repeat, only — a criminal issue. (As an aside, this is precisely why I think the U.S., the EU and the UN should immediately stop making any reference to religion with regard to terrorists. Their right to religious freedom — and regard by others – should have stopped the minute they violated any one person's basic human rights and the law of the country in which they committed a crime.)
The parents of the children in the film do certainly have the freedom of religion as guaranteed by our constitution. Just as they have the freedom to do so, so do I have the freedom to openly admonish their parenting style and keep a close eye on their children as they become adults. It’s worth noting, however, that these parents do in fact have a style. Right or wrong, they have something to defend; they have something to point at and say, “This is the way I’m raising my children because they are important to me. This is what I believe so this is what I’m doing.”
Fanatical parenting styles (religious or not) are tolerated by our society — despite evidence that these styles create troubled children — for two reasons:
1) Society's ongoing, underlying belief that without blood, bruise, or broken bone, no abuse has taken place. As long as you feed, shelter and clothe your child, you can say (shout, yell, scream, speak in tongues) anything you want at them and it's okay by the rest of us. You can teach them anything you want, no matter how counter to societal standards of behavior, and as long as the behavior itself is legal, it's again okay by the rest of us.
You don’t have to do much else of anything (and a lot of parents don’t) - like hold children accountable for and place restrictions on their behavior, include them in family chores as well as family fun, provide them with healthcare, provide for their safety, get to know their friends and acquaintances, or attend a single school activity.
2) Many non-Evangelical Christian parents are just as fanatical about raising their children in the most peripheral sense of the word as Evangelical Christians are with their over-the-top techniques. Many non-Evangelical Christian parents no more hold themselves accountable for their child’s safety, welfare, and education than they hold their children accountable for their behavior. They wonder where they went wrong, where the child went wrong, and what the world is coming to. The answer is simple: You allowed someone else to get to your child first.
Diana (nee Gulick) Hartman is the Culture and Tastes Editor for Blogcritics.org. She is a freelance writer, mother of three, and a (Ret.) US Marine spouse. She is a Wichita, Kansas native, having also lived in the California desert, Southern California, and eastern North Carolina. She currently resides for the second time in Stuttgart, Germany. She is a contributing writer to Holiday Writes.
- Jesus Camp Speaks More of Society than Fanatical Religion
- Published: January 05, 2008
- Type: Opinion
- Section: Culture
- Filed Under: Culture: Family and Relationships, Culture: Religion, Culture: Society, Politics: Law and Rights, Video: Documentary
- Writer: Diana Hartman
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Diana,
I saw Jesus Camp several months ago. I found it most disturbing. They are in fact training those children to be warriors for Jesus. The militant approach they take is tantamount to brainwashing. Young minds are the easiest to mold, and as they grow into adulthood, they will be much more difficult to change. Most of them will be dyed in the wool "true believers" upon reaching their majority. That what we - atheists, agnostics and other less ardent christians - likely would look upon as mental and emotional abuse is, unfortunately, considered by their parents to be none of our business.
Obviously, coming between a parent and his or her children is a dicey proposition. Defining just when active, concerned parenting becomes abuse is difficult at best. There are people for a number of reasons have no business having or raising kids. But, in a supposedly free society restricting parenthood smacks of an authoritarian or even totalitarion society, which we find repugnant. Given several historical precedents, the government certainly cannot be assumed to provide better child rearing skills than a child's natural parents. Government or other outside intervention in some instances such as that illustrated in Jesus Camp might be preferable, but very difficult to pull off.
Baritone
I just saw Jusus Camp for the first time this weekend. The movie is scary for anyone who is not an Evangelical Christian. While I do not agree with everything you wrote, I agree that the movie is indicative of American Culture. When I was growing up in Colorado, radical Christians were around but they were a fringe group not to be taken seriously and easily ignored. Now, living in the heartland again after a 9 year absence, the landscape has changed. Now it is hard to hear a point of view other than the radical religious right. Now it is impossible to ignore them because, as the woman in the movie says, their goal is total domination. More moderate voices have been silenced. The more moderate churches are dwindling in the shadow of the mega-churches.
i appreciate that the makers of Jesus Camp let the people interviewed do all the talking; over all, there is some truth in this flick as long as it's taken with a grain (or maybe a bucket) of salt
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While I do not agree with some of your perpectives, you have the key points lined up. The parent is the teacher of the child, and if the parent allows someone to "get to the kid first" with an intelligent upbringing, that parent can no longer be heard to whine about society. The first society the child knows is mommy and daddy. If mommy and daddy don't care, SOMEONE ELSE WILL. Children are a valuable commodity, and the parent who cannot see even this is truly a fool who deserves to lose his child to a sick culture.