I recently saw Jesus Camp, Heidi Ewing & Rachel Grady’s 2006 documentary, which features Pastor Becky Fischer’s Kids on Fire Summer Camp. This look at an intense “camp” which indoctrinates children with evangelical ideology is deeply disturbing. Children as young as 7 are encouraged to pray in tongues, to ward off the devil’s influence. Fischer tells her campers that Muslims train their children to die for their god, so she needs Christian soldiers for their own crusade. What exactly being a “Christian soldier” entails is a bit unclear, but I doubt it involves solely following the Ten Commandments and respecting those who disagree.

I won’t proclaim to know the extent, form, or existence of god. There is a distinct possibility that I will burn in eternal hellfire for not spreading the word of god in the name of Jesus. I’m willing to take that risk, but it is my risk to take. Robbing children of their own theological and intellectual journeys is unforgivable.

Parents are responsible to raise their children to be moral, but also to be intellectually independent. Presumably, these kids’ “training” is so deep and so intense that it is irreparable. What a great tragedy that thousands of children are simply being swallowed up by a socio-religious movement without any chance to escape.

This documentary highlights the great social chasm in this country. The division is not as simple as red states and blue states. Instead, there are those who use empirical data and rational thought facing those who look towards irrefutable universal ideals or beings. In the end, there is no way to disprove an ideology which does not tangibly exist. Such is the problem with religious zealots and religious zeal. Sound familiar?

Edit: While Pascal’s Wager suggests I follow god literally and figuratively to the gates of hell, I am still sticking with my own rationality as a guiding light. Pascal failed to recognize that his wager of god or not-god is horribly simplistic. Evangelicals, Catholics, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, and Scientologists all have different views and codes of ethics. Choosing god is not an option, choosing a particular interpretation of god is. Since I can’t be a pious Muslim, Jew, and Christian, I simply am going to live my life according to my own rationality and code of ethics.