5 Netflix Docs to Watch if You Liked ‘Keep Sweet: Pray and Obey’
Netflix’s four-part docuseries Keep Sweet: Pray and Obey revolves around the leader of a religious and polygamous sect within the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, or FLDS, Warren Jeffs. After taking over as Prophet following his father’s death, Warren created a stricter environment and punished anyone who questioned him by excommunicating them and assigning their families to other men. A former FLDS member went to authorities and revealed his practice of marrying underage girls to older men, resulting in a 2006 conviction. When more records and recordings were discovered behind a vault in the temple, the evidence led to his 2011 conviction. He has been sentenced to life in prison and isn’t eligible for parole until 2038. Here are five other religious-based documentaries on Netflix that you’ll want to watch if you enjoyed Keep Sweet: Pray and Obey.
The Keepers
The 2017 seven-part docuseries dives into the 1969 murder of nun Catherine Cesnik, who taught English and drama at Baltimore-based all-girls Archbishop Keough High School.
Several of her former students spoke in the documentary about their theories that authorities covered up her murder after she believed a former priest, Anthony Joseph Maskell, who has since been removed from ministry, sexually abused students. The critically acclaimed docuseries has an approval rating of 97% on Rotten Tomatoes.
Murder Among the Mormons
Murder Among the Mormons is a three-part true-crime docuseries, released in March 2021, that revolves around Mark Hofmann. As one of the most infamous forgers in American history, he created documents about the Latter Day Saint movement history that he would sell and trade.
However, he became desperate due to his debt and made explosives to buy more time. Review aggregator Metacritic gave it “generally favorable reviews.”
One Of Us
Not to be confused with the British miniseries, One of Us is a 2017 documentary film that revolves around three Brooklyn-based former Hasidic Jews and their lives following their decision to leave the community.
Additionally, it features counselor Chani Getter who helps former ultra-Orthodox believers transition into the outside world. The documentary won the Critics’ Choice Documentary Award for Most Compelling Living Subject of a Documentary and received a nomination from the Philadelphia Film Festival for Best Documentary Feature.
Our Father
The 2022 documentary revolves around Jacoba Ballard, who discovered eight half-siblings through a DNA test.
Her findings led to an investigation into former Indiana-based fertility doctor Donald Cline who reportedly impregnated unsuspecting patients with his own sample. The film has generated mostly mixed reviews.
Wild Wild Country
Wild Wild Country is a 2018 six-part docuseries that follows controversial Indian leader Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, his former assistant Ma Anand Sheela, and their followers. The group built a utopian city in Oregon, but it led to a conflict that eventually resulted in the first bioterror attack in the United States.
It has been criticized for leaving out information, including reported sexual assault of women and children, but won a 2018 Emmy for Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series and has received numerous awards and nominations.
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