How LifeWise Grooms Kids to Hate Through Bible Study
May 3, 2025
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 rooted—in part—in 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.
I could not have written this piece without the support of many parent activists who have been fighting LifeWise in their communities for years.
This story was republished by Ms. Magazine on May 22, 2025.
