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NORTH CENTRAL OHIO — Last year the atheist organization, the Freedom from Religion Foundation (FFRF) sent a letter to every Ohio school district discouraging Ohio school boards from participating in LifeWise Academy. While FFRF skeptics believe the released-time religious instruction program disrupts the school day, a large band of faith leaders believe FFRF is ‘pushing the envelope’ and meddling with their state. In response, the clergy sent a correspondence to over one-hundred Wisconsin school boards encouraging them to allow the voluntary Bible program in their districts.
“We lost several generations to secular humanism when the Bible was perceived to be taken out of schools by the courts,” says Pastor Eric Steward, one of the clergy cosigners of the letter sent the week of December 22nd. “There is no reason why any Christian faith leader should oppose LifeWise. Why settle for having fifteen students in your youth program when you can participate in the program and teach the Bible to over one-hundred students during school hours?” the Richland County Pastor said.
According to Pastor John Bouquet, the Wisconsin-based FFRF is an anti-GOD legal organization that takes great interest in how Ohioans live their lives. “In this country, angry atheists are free to be wrong. The FFRF’s unsolicited legal advice complaining about our religious holiday displays, police chaplains, state motto, and now released-time religious instruction programs have led to embarrassing defeats. Their donor list in Ohio has got to be shrinking.”
In the Ohio faith leaders’ letter to Wisconsin school boards, the clergy wrote, “Released-time religious instruction is a concept outlined by the 1952 U.S. Supreme Court decision Zorach v. Clauson. This landmark decision determined this practice was constitutional and therefore legal in all fifty states. Under released-time, students can be released from public school during the school day to attend religious classes, provided the program is off school property, privately-funded and parent-permitted.”
Pastor Bouquet adds, “Released-time instruction was always legal in Ohio, but FFRF was giving out misleading information. When the Attorney General, and then the State Legislature filled in the gaps to solidify released-time, that was a pretty humiliating blow for FFRF,” the Ashland County faith leader said. “In the legal sense, when it comes to Acts of GOD, they (FFRF) will always be on the losing side.”
“Released-time instruction was always legal in Ohio, but FFRF was giving out misleading information. When the Attorney General and then the State Legislature filled in the gaps to solidify released-time, that was a pretty humiliating blow for FFRF. In the legal sense, when it comes to Acts of GOD, they (FFRF) will always be on the losing side.”
Pastor John Bouquet
Recently the Ohio legislature passed a law at the end of the 2023-24 session signed by Governor Mike DeWine requiring local school boards to adopt a policy on released-time religious instruction. This new statute opens the door for released-time in every school district in the state, like in Wisconsin, where students are permitted to be dismissed for 1-3 hours per week for religious instruction.
In the clergy letter, faith leaders from one hundred-sixteen congregations across Ohio encouraged Wisconsin school boards to utilize LifeWise Academy in their districts. The clergy cited a 2024 nationwide scientific poll of 1,000 registered voters conducted by RMG Research that found more than three-quarters of Americans believe public school students need moral and character education. The clergy also mentioned that more than half of Americans believe the Bible should be used for that moral and character education.
The Ohio-based LifeWise Academy launched its two initial Ohio school district pilots the same year lead clergymen from 150 Ohio congregations declared 2019 as “The Year of the Bible.” Today, LifeWise Academy enrolls nearly 50,000 students from almost 600 public schools across more than 29 states. Consequently, LifeWise has a strong presence in Ohio with 337 school districts presently enrolled.
According to a third-party independent study by Thomas P. Miller & Associates, when LifeWise is implemented in schools struggling with post-COVID attendance, even though LifeWise students are removed from school for a short period of time for Bible education, there turns out to be a net increase in class time. In addition, there is a marked improvement in student behavior with In and out-of-school suspensions going down.
Pastor John Temple, another clergy co-signer, says LifeWise Academy will have a positive impact on students. “We believe this innovative Bible education program offered to public schools is having a profound impact on the lives of students in Ohio. If you want to see school attendance go up and suspensions to go down, we encourage your district to partner with parents to register with LifeWise Academy at no cost to your district,” the Ashland County Pastor said.
“If over three-quarters of professional educators believe both students and schools benefit from LifeWise Academy, we believe when your district registers with this program, your Wisconsin teachers and students will feel the same.”
The clergy letter sent to over one-hundred Wisconsin school boards consisted of lead faith leaders from fourteen different Ohio counties; several of the pastors are elected school board members. Counties with the most lead clergy co-signers included Richland, Crawford, and Ashland Counties.
The Bottom Line:
The Bible says in Isaiah 54, “All your children shall be taught by the LORD, and great shall be the peace of your children.”
View video of LifeWise Academy’s state of the ministry report from November 2024. (31 min.)
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