Evangelism Through Peer Pressure: A Threat to Public Education

By: Alex LeBlanc

Evangelism Through Peer Pressure: A Threat to Public Education

Remember when an outside company tried to fast-track a data center in our backyard before most of us knew it was happening? A deal done behind closed doors with public input an afterthought.

A similar attempt is underway to introduce religious education to public school students in our district.

Lifewise Academy, an Ohio-based religious non-profit “earning” $35.3 million annually, seeks approval to offer optional bible-based moral education to Locust Grove Elementary students, off-site during the school day. Their website listed Locust Grove as a partner, before the public was informed and the Oldham County School Board voted. Sound familiar?

Some will cheer this news. Others may think, “It’s optional, what’s the harm?” Many KCfD members, including myself, a parent and school council member, have serious concerns. I urge all of our members to research Lifewise, the updated KRS 158.200, Mar-Jun Locust Grove school council minutes, and concerns raised by a parent at the July 28 OCS Board meeting, which I share.  For those ready to take a deep dive, a wealth of information can be found at https://seculareducationassociation.org/, https://www.honestyforohioeducation.org/ and https://respectpublicschools.com/. All of these websites were formed in response to LifeWise’s influence in Ohio’s public school system.

Locust Grove school council minutes show Lifewise approached the district months ago. At their June 9th meeting, a parent raised multiple red flags, including that under KY statute, only the school board, not a school council, can approve this program. Mere hours later, Lifewise appeared before the school board for the first time to give their 4 minute elevator pitch and claimed to have a couple hundred local signatures showing interest in the program. On July 28th, LifeWise returned with a group of supporters and formally submitted their written application. Neither agenda posted by the school board included LifeWise. After concerned parents inquired and with minimal notice, the board discussed the issue for 15 minutes at a specially called meeting on August 6, concluding they have no moral instruction policy, the statute is unclear, and they need guidance from the Attorney General. Curiously, there was no board attorney present to advise, contrary to normal process. 

KCfD has many concerns regarding this program, and has created a petition asking the board to decline LifeWise’s proposal that has already received 900+ signatures, 68% of which come from the local area.  To begin with, financial transparency is lacking. LifeWise receives millions in anonymous donations, $13.2 million from the American Endowment Foundation (AEF) alone. If you are not familiar with AEF, it is what is known as a donor-advised fund (DAF).  Basically, DAF’s are charitable investment accounts managed by a 501(c)(3), in this case AEF, that allow private parties to donate as much as they want to any non-profit of their choice without it being able to be traced back to them.  To be clear, many positive organizations receive substantial funding this way.  However, some recent reporting has uncovered a rise in far-right non-profits receiving massive amounts of untraceable money to advance their ideological agenda, to the tune of $276 million between 2017 and 2020. We have seen the effects of unlimited and untraceable money on our politics. Do we really want to open the door to that in our public schools?

Aside from the funds they received through DAF’s, LifeWise also received $1 million directly from the Heritage Foundation, the authors of Project 2025.  LifeWise spends just 52% of its revenue on direct services. It is sitting on $17 million in assets, the plans for which remain unclear.  Some might find it questionable that they run their plug-and-play bible education program like a multi-level-marketing scheme, requiring the local community to raise the initial funding to get the program off the ground and pay them for training on how to run it before providing their copyrighted teaching material at no cost, while sitting on such a large warchest.  It is also worth noting that LifeWise has engaged a law-firm to lobby on their behalf.  LifeWise’s supporters in the communities they target, and nationwide, are often advocates for school vouchers and privatization; policies Oldham County voters overwhelmingly rejected in 2024 by defeating Amendment 2 with 61% of the vote.

LifeWise’s rhetoric describing public schools as their “mission field” to reach the “unchurched,” targeting ages 4 to 14 for their “impressionability” is extremely troubling.  Reporting shows they offer treats and awards, including ice cream parties, to recruit friends and boost participation.  This is evangelism through peer pressure. LifeWise views schools as tools for religious outreach, not inclusive institutions meant to serve all children, regardless of faith.

Despite “non-denominational” claims, LifeWise’s curriculum comes from Lifeway Christian Resources, affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention, teaching theology that doesn’t reflect our district’s religious diversity. Their “Difficult Questions From Students” document stigmatizes LGBTQ+ identities and family structures with divorced or unmarried parents as sinful, marginalizing students who may already face discrimination. Imagine the lunchroom or recess conversations some kids will face when their fellow students return from such moral instruction?

“Public schools are secular by design. Introducing religious instruction during the school day blurs the line between church and state and risks social division.”

Oldham County schools are a point of pride, drawing many of us to live here.  Partnering with LifeWise risks that reputation by interrupting essential periods like lunch, recess, or related arts for religious instruction; vital unstructured times for social-emotional growth, creativity, and physical health. As the program grows, reports show that students who don’t participate are placed into study-hall or given busy work while they await their peers return to continue instruction. Furthermore, the data presented by LifeWise proponents regarding positive impact is not peer-reviewed and does not meet basic educational research standards.

Public schools are secular by design. Introducing religious instruction during the school day blurs the line between church and state and risks social division. Students who don’t participate may face exclusion and shame. This is not aligned with the inclusive values of the Oldham County school district per their stated mission in public-facing materials. 

This is not a done deal. We can keep our public schools inclusive, accountable, and focused on education, not evangelism.

I urge all of our members, whatever your beliefs, to learn more, ask questions, and speak up. Contact your school board members and superintendent. If you are a Locust Grove parent, attend the school council meeting on August 25 at 2:45 p.m. All parents, please attend the OC School Board meeting on August 25 at 4:45 p.m. at the Arvin Center to share concerns during public comment. Also, please share this information as widely as possible.  Lifewise is not only targeting Oldham County, they are targeting multiple school districts in KY, as shown by this interactive map (based on data from their own website), as well as across the country. If you haven’t already, please sign our petition and encourage others to do so as well.

Featured image: Photo by Nathan Cima on Unsplash