How LifeWise Grooms Kids to Hate Through Bible Study
Design by Sam Donndelinger.Subscribe nowWhen you think about Bible study, images might pop into your head of kids learning principles like forgiveness or loving thy neighbor, and thats just what LifeWise Academy advertises on its website: A supportive and inclusive atmosphere where everyone feels valued.But for many parents and LGBTQ kids in at least 591 American public schools with LifeWise programs, thats far from the truth.One parent says their daughter was mercilessly bullied by LifeWise kids for looking like a Lesbian who is going to burn in hell. Another had to remove their transgender son from school after he was bullied following the presidential election, with the school fearing LifeWise staff and students would make things worse.And a third parenta queer momsays, As a member of the LGBTQ+ community, my childrens safety in the public school setting is compromised when students are permitted to be removed from the school to be taught discriminatory and harmful things about my family.LifeWise Academy is a conservative Christian organization that takes public school students off school property to integrate a Bible class into their weekly class schedule. It was founded in 2018 by Joel Penton, a former college football player.For an hour a week, students from kindergarten through 12th grade learn about religious concepts rootedin partin homophobia and transphobia. For example, students are taught that anything other than a nuclear family, with one mom and one dad who are married, is wrong and that there is no such thing as being transgender.LifeWise even requires its employees to agree to their worldview statement, which says, Gods design for the gift of sex is for it to be exercised and enjoyed exclusively within the covenant relationship of marriage between one man and one woman. Additionally, a persons sex has been given as a gift from God and should not be altered.This is not just learning about a religion, says Sloan Okrey Anderson, an assistant professor of social work at St. Catherine University who researches LGBTQ populations and Christianity. The content is from a very specific, hyper-conservative, white American evangelical perspective, a very specific white nationalist-adjacent version of Christianity.Since its inception seven years ago, LifeWise has grown massively with 50,000 students projected to attend LifeWise classes across 29 states. The organization was founded in Ohio, which has at least 197 programs, and it has a disproportionate presence in the Midwest.LifeWises growth in the U.S. reflects a trend of politicians and lawmakers attempting to incorporate Christianity in public schools and minimize LGBTQ representation. Last year, Oklahomas superintendent of public education announced all schools in the state would be required to teach students about the Biblea decision which came shortly after Louisiana attempted to mandate that the Ten Commandments be displayed in every classroom. This is all occurring as the Supreme Court seems poised to side with Maryland parents who want to remove their kids from classes that are teaching LGBTQ-themed books.Subscribe nowHow LifeWise Is Allowed to OperateSince American public schools arent allowed to promote any one religion, LifeWise uses whats known as Released Time Religious Instruction (RTRI), a precedent set in a 1952 Supreme Court case that allows public school students with parental consent to receive religious education off school property during the school day, although it was only meant to be used by individual families, not a nationwide organization.RTRI prohibits public funds from being used to facilitate the program and schools from promoting it, but LifeWise gets around this by having children recruit their peers and bribing them with sweet treats. For example, LifeWise in Wauseon, Ohio, has provided children with student business cards to hand out to friends and has said, If you [can] get 90 kids to come, [well] give you an ice cream party.LifeWise Academy Wauseon, OH. Student business cards. / Screenshot: Wauseon Character Academy on YouTube.CurriculumLifeWise teaches elementary and middle school students a variety of Christian principles. But embedded in the core curriculum are more insidious, anti-LGBTQ teachings. In a sixth grade lesson plan obtained by Uncloseted Media, LifeWise teaches 11 to 12-year-olds that God created people as male and female" and God designed two separate, distinct genders to complement one another in relationship.But high school is where the curriculum really sinks its teeth into issues related to LGBTQ identities. LifeWises high school curriculum uses the Foundations series that starts with Understanding the Times, based on a book by the same name.The original book was written in 2006 by Jeff Myers and David Noebel, two conservative evangelicals, and contains a plethora of harmful and untrue homophobic, transphobic and even Islamophobic teachings.On page 324, they write, Being raised by parents who have been involved in same-sex relationships is correlated with several negative social outcomes, including crime, substance abuse, and forced sexual encounters. And on page 409, they critique people who disavow heteronormative power structures: This way of thinking continues to creep into judicial decisions, most recently through the decision of Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy to overthrow the Defense of Marriage Act because he viewed it as oppressive to people experiencing same-sex attraction.Okrey Anderson says that reducing LGBTQ identities down to worldviews is a distinct form of othering. Youre granting permission to and empowering these kids to go out and see peoples identities and lived experiences as a worldview to be debated and youre othering them. Every scrap of misinformation that you spread about trans people translates directly into violence against trans people.Beyond the curriculum, LifeWise has a rulebook that gives instructorswho are not required to have teaching certifications from the Department of Educationguidance on how to answer difficult questions from students.Excerpt from Lifewises Difficult Questions from Students document. The document explains that anyone who is experiencing gender dysphoria or is attracted to someone of the same sex should deny those feelings. If a child asks, What would God think if I changed my gender? LifeWise teachers are instructed to deny that trans, gender diverse and intersex people exist, and to explain that God made us male or female. No matter how we feel, or how confused we are, we should trust and respect Gods perfect design and how He created us.If a kid asks about same-sex relationships, LifeWise instructs teachers to explain that God designed the first man and woman to have a loving relationship with one another in marriage and anything different from this kind of romantic relationship between a husband and a wife is sin.Its grotesque, says Olivia Murray, a professor at Portland State University whose research focuses on education. From a child, youth and adolescent perspective, how does this build critical thinkers?Murray says social and emotional learning should teach children to call out and question what we know and think deeper into the how and the why of knowledge. She says a better approach might be to ask a question in return like, What do you think of your friend who was presumed male at birth that uses female pronouns? or Whats your interpretation of the Bible and how might that impact your religion and relationships in the world?SharePolicies and StaffLifeWise operates with little diversity. According to its website, all of its senior leadership boast nuclear families, and three-quarters are men.Staff are expected to remain abstinent, with the only exception being for those in heterosexual marriages.Excerpt from LifeWises team member conduct policy.Christopher Elder was a volunteer at LifeWises chapter in Paulding Village, Ohio, until he was terminated shortly after he started dating his boyfriend.My identity in Christ, to me, looks like loving and supporting my boyfriend and everyone in the LGBTQ community, Elder, 25, told Uncloseted Media. But when he told his director he had a boyfriend and asked if he could continue to volunteer, he was surprised by the answer. His director said, Since the LifeWise Worldview Statement is that Gods design is for marriage to be between one man and one woman and your current choice doesnt align with that stance, I think its best that you not volunteer at this time.Christopher Elder {right} and his boyfriend [left}. Photo courtesy of Elder. The director at LifeWises Paulding Village, Ohio chapter did not respond to Uncloseted Medias request for comment.I thought that as long as Jason and I are abstinent, then I [could] still volunteer, says Elder. Im not killing anybody, Im not blatantly opposing the Bible, its just this one thing. Its unfair and unjust because my biggest passion is serving Christ.Murray says this discrimination creates an awful learning environment for teachers and students alike. From an educator perspective, we need to teach with integrity and oftentimes that means adhering to our identity, she says. To teach in ways that are closeted or against our lived experiences or desires can be disingenuous and students can feel that.LifeWises repressive policies extend as far as using the bathroom. Their policy manual states that team members and students attending LifeWise will use the bathroom that corresponds to the gender identified on their birth certificates. If staff dont abide, they will face disciplinary action. If students dont follow, theyll be outed to their parents.Its always gonna be based on passing, says Okrey Anderson. Even cis kids who are maybe ambiguous-lookingtheyre going to be targeted specifically by leadership for a conversation where theyre told Hey, you need to dress more femininely or whatever it may be.LifeWise teacher explains to a group of children how the consequence for Biblical sinning, which includes homosexuality, is death.LifeWise did not respond to Uncloseted Medias request for comment.Subscribe nowConcerned ParentsAs the program infiltrates public schools across the country, some school districts are deciding not to allow LifeWise to operate. Last year, at a Board of Education meeting in Westerville, Ohio, one mom explained to the Board why she and her wife decided not to opt their daughter into LifeWise.LifeWise has a clearly stated anti-LGBTQIA policy, she said. My daughter has explained on numerous occasions [that] she has been confronted by peers in LifeWise. Shes been asked to explain why she does not attend and pressed about if she believes in Christ, in God, in religion. All of this seems incredibly counterproductive for a school district that otherwise is so clearly committed to diversity, equity, inclusion and student safety and wellbeing.Testimony from Westerville City Schools Board of Education meeting in August 2024 via WCS Social on YouTube.But parents are pushing back beyond School Board meetings. Revere City Schoolsalso in Ohiohave been under pressure from Revere Citizens Against LifeWise Academy, a group fighting to keep the program out of their community.Perhaps the largest fight being waged is by the Secular Education Association, formerly known as Parents Against LifeWise. The grassroots organization was founded in 2023 by Zach Parrish and Molly Gaines after Parrishs daughter went through relentless peer pressure and bullying for not attending LifeWise classes.Public education is literally the cornerstone of our democracy and it is just one more thing that is being threatened along with book bans and teachers, Gaines told Uncloseted Media, adding that they have upward of 14,000 group members on Facebook. We wanted to bring awareness to that, and the more we looked into it, the more nefarious it became.Subscribe for LGBTQ-focused, accountability journalism.Since 2023, Parrish and Gaines group has amassed a massive collection of documents and knowledge on LifeWise and its operations, most of which would likely still be kept behind closed doors if it wasnt for their work. Their website contains resources to help parents make an informed decision about whether to opt their children in, as well as testimony from concerned parents.Among their findings are 140 internal policy documents, information about LifeWises fundingwhich includes over $3.4 million in grants, including some from the notoriously anti-LGBTQ National Christian Foundationand details about how LifeWise conducts background checks and trains its educators.In one shocking discovery, they found that an Ohio teacher, who was previously fired from a public school for sexting with a student, was subsequently hired to be a local program director at LifeWise.Their methods for obtaining this information landed Parrish a lawsuit from LifeWise last year that ended in a settlement agreement.Despite pushback efforts, LifeWise has forged a clear path for growth. In at least 11 states, school districts are required to have a policy that greenlights programs like LifeWise, leaving communities with no mechanism to keep the Academy out.LifeWises ultimate goal is for conservative Christian teachings to be embedded in public schools across America. And in select schools, this is already happening. Starting later this year, the LifeWise chapter in Liberty Center, Ohio, will begin offering a for-credit class for high school students. If LifeWise has their way, this could spread across the country thanks to model legislation provided by the Released Time Resource Institute, a LifeWise-founded think tank that provides resources for legislators and educators.A lot of people from conservative backgrounds often fear the recruitment of queer and trans folks recruiting other people in, and I feel like its really flipped on its head here, says Murray. This grooming thats occurring here is incredibly damaging.Okrey Anderson agrees. By exposing kids to this type of theologywhether thats queer kids or notyou are potentially robbing those kids of a future spiritual life. You could be poisoning them forever to have a meaningful relationship to deity in a way that feels safe and comfortable for them.If objective, nonpartisan, rigorous, LGBTQ-focused journalism is important to you, please consider making a tax-deductible donation through our fiscal sponsor, Resource Impact, by clicking this button:Donate to Uncloseted Media
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