Reviews - Church Camp: Bad Skits, Cry Night, and How White Evangelicalism Betrayed a Generation

28 reviews for:

Church Camp: Bad Skits, Cry Night, and How White Evangelicalism Betrayed a Generation

Cara Meredith

3.8 AVERAGE

marcidarling's review

3.5

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced

gingerlocks25's review against another edition

3.0

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

Summer Camps are definitely in full swing, but, they’re on a whole other level in America. In this book we explore the billion dollar industry of week long sleepaway Christian camps. The author immerses us in the seven day emotional journey of repentance, tears, breakthroughs and the all important conversions.

Cara comes to terms with scripts she recited, the plays she re-enacted and the pleas she made for the “Gods” above so they can reach their convertible conversions. She saw her LGBTQIA+ friends asked not to return once they came out of the closet and how others struggle in the mainstream world in a world without camps.

Cara no longer works in summer camps or a practicing Evangelist, but that in no way undermines this book, as in parts I was confused on her current perspective or stance of the camps and or her faith.

I really found this an interesting read and was concerned initially it would either feature a sexual scandal or fall under the extreme military style disciplinary camps we’ve come to know, but thankfully neither applied. My rating may seem a bit unfair but I guess I felt the book was only getting started and there was much more to be explored in terms of the industry, the matters of race, sexuality and who is really running these camps, but that may need a whole other book to tackle!

Content Warnings