How Jesus Camp is Still Relevant 10 Years Later

     It's understandable to see how frustrated and uncontrollably angry one could get watching the documentary film 'Jesus Camp.' When I first saw the film years ago with some high school friends because we heard the movie was funny: I was in for a nasty, too-honest truth about how divided America really is. Watching it again for class, I knew all of the 'roll your eyes' parts already and wanted to go into the film to see more than its face value. More than laughing at how Evangelical Christians live or the fact that Rachael had a shirt that said ' Jesus Died for Your sins' with hearts and purple stars around it.

     The most important, and clearly hilarious scene in the documentary was when all of the children were praying around a cardboard cutout of George W. Bush, a man who won his presidency with the thanks of Evangelical Christians. As the holy Ted Haggard mentioned in the film: the Evangelicals are one of the largest voting communities in the nation and they alone, can sway the presidential election.

      What makes this documentary so relevant: has to do with the past Presidential election, where like the 2000 election, the Republican nominee won thanks to the electoral college not to the popular vote. Donald Trump has become essentially, a newer updated George W Bush and from that he has gained the same voter base. Trump has gained popularity within the Evangelicals mostly due to his conservative values and his strong sense of 'family' and 'Christian Values.' Also, a lot is due to his hatred to former President Obama and his claim that he was not born in America and wanted to see his birth certificate.

     Even though Trump did not win the popular vote, a lot of his vote was thanks to the Evangelical Church and all of its followers. Even George Marshall stated at the beginning of class before Jesus Camp was shown that all of the kids who went to that camp were able to vote in the 2016 election, and that should scare a lot of people.

     The kids in Jesus Camp are much more important than the adults, they are raised by parents from one generation and are expected to have those same ideas and beliefs in a rapidly changing and very liberal time. What they learned in Jesus Camp is what they are spreading now to others, and when people wonder why Trump became president: you can refer to the film and see how even at young ages the Evangelical can spread out messages to all audiences. And those messages could of become political.