The Economist writes about LifeWise, a CN (Christian nationalist) operation that is insinuating itself into all aspects of children's lives and indoctrinating them into intolerant, fundamentalist Christian theocracy:
How a Christian group is changing education in America
LifeWise is growing fast, closing the gap between church and state
THE LESSON was on the crucifixion. The teacher asked the seven- and eight-year-olds to write down a list of their “most troublesome sins”. She had brought an example of a whip to show them how Jesus was tortured before his death. “There would have been no skin left on Jesus’s back. His ribs would have been exposed because once it takes your skin off, when they keep going it’s digging into your organs,” she said. After the beating his raw body rubbed against the cross. “Think of the splinters!” she exclaimed. The children sat mostly quietly as she told them that God could not look at Jesus because he was covered in sins. Soon time was up. Jesus would be resurrected, she reassured them, but that was for next class.
The session was recorded by a concerned teacher’s aide just before Easter in a small Ohio town. The instruction was part of a weekly programme run by LifeWise Academy, a non-profit. LifeWise buses children from public schools to local churches during recess, gym, art, library and other elective classes to teach them the gospel during the school day, if parents opt in. Its instructors are a mix of retired teachers, pastors and local mums.
Parents initiate bringing the programme into their schools and raise funds to pay LifeWise a startup fee. The group then provides red buses and a plug-and-play curriculum. It is no small enterprise. This year LifeWise operated in 585 school districts across 28 states and enrolled more than 44,000 students. By autumn, when school starts again, it will be in 982 districts in 33 states, an increase of nearly 70%. The group’s meteoric rise can also be measured in money. In 2023 LifeWise made a $4m surplus, according to tax filings. Last year the figure was $17m.
Joel Penton, a former football player at Ohio State University, founded LifeWise six years ago. He was shocked to discover in 2018 that pupils in taxpayer-funded schools could legally be released for religious study, as long as classes weren’t taught on school grounds and students weren’t forced to go. Zorach v Clauson, a 1952 Supreme Court decision stemming from a New York City case, had set the boundaries. As a born-again Christian bent on evangelizing, Mr. Penton reckoned that “release time” might be “the single greatest missed opportunity to give access to the Bible to the next generation”. Mormons and Jews had done it, but not at scale. “That was the day I stopped sleeping,” he says. America’s public schools became his mission field.
Some parents are thrilled about the maverick model, as the soaring attendance numbers show, but others say LifeWise is pernicious. LifeWise students are taught to proselytize to their peers, which can pressure non-participants. A parent says her fourth-grader who opted out of LifeWise was bullied and called a “sinner” after she cussed during recess. A Jewish nine-year-old begged his parents to let him believe in Jesus so he could attend.
Molly Gaines, a parent who lives in an Ohio town with seven churches and no grocery store, says that in poor rural places a LifeWise pizza party may be the only hot meal children get that week. “They’re preying on these kids who have hard lives and want to be a part of something,” she says. .... Mr. Penton says that LifeWise teaches love and kindness and that the organization is careful not to break any laws.
Danae Gambill, a LifeWise director in rural Georgia, saw her program double in size this year. “Not everybody is going to agree with the things that are taught,” she says, “but that’s why it’s optional.” Reflecting on recent lessons about Jesus’s suffering, she adds that teaching children serious things, at the appropriate age, is important. “The topic of the crucifixion is not unicorns and rainbows but it’s the whole crux of our salvation,” she says. “No one is out here trying to scare kids.”
Once again, the effects of rural poverty are easy to see. Poverty opens the door to extremism. In this case, theocratic Christian nationalist extremism.[1] Kids and parents who opt out are attacked as sinners, presumably damned to hell forever and thus fair game for oppression and bigoted hate. That amounts to serious peer and social pressure. That pressure comes from the “love and kindness” that LifeWise indoctrination inflicts on the unchurched and unchurchable.
Q: Is Ms. Gambill correct to say that “no one is out here trying to scare kids”? Is the implicit threat of damnation and screaming agony in Satan's eternal Lake of Fire not scary for kids? Or, is it unfair or unreasonably cynical to see LifeWise as knowingly using the at least implicit threat of damnation to scare children into the Christian church and to give them license to denigrate people who opt out?
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In the realm of TL/DR for the wonks
🤔
(a wonk thinking, as wonks tend to do)
Footnote:
1. Pxy analyzes the evidence about the true authoritarian nature and intent of Christian nationalism and the elites who run it:
Q2: You assert that CN "envisions the United States as a distinctly Christian nation where laws, policies, and social structures should reflect conservative Christian values and principles." My understanding of Christian nationalism is that it is a wealth and power political movement wrapped in Christian theocratic intent and inherently authoritarian, not pro-democracy or conservative. Have the definitions of conservatism and authoritarianism (theocracy in this case) merged to be mostly or completely one and the same?A2: Your understanding of Christian nationalism as fundamentally a wealth and power political movement wrapped in theocratic intent is well-supported by current scholarly research. The academic consensus increasingly recognizes Christian nationalism not as traditional conservatism, but as an authoritarian movement that has co-opted religious language to advance elite interests and concentrate power.Recent scholarship has moved beyond simplistic definitions of Christian nationalism to reveal its true nature as a political machine designed to serve elite interests. Christian nationalism is now understood as "not just an anti-democratic political ideology, but also as a political machine, a leadership-driven movement that seeks political power and domination in all areas of government and society" 1.
Q3: You assert that "Tim Dunn and Farris Wilks, who have contributed millions to advance the movement's agenda. Organizations like Ziklag, backed by "some of the wealthiest conservative Christian families in America," including the Uihlein family, the Greens (Hobby Lobby), and the Wallers (Jockey apparel), have spent nearly $12 million." My understanding is that wealthy CN elites have spent hundreds of millions, maybe billions, over the years to empower the CN wealth and power movement. Is that false?A3: Your understanding that wealthy elites have spent hundreds of millions, potentially billions, over the years to empower the Christian nationalist movement is correct and well-supported by the evidence. The figures I cited in my previous response represent only a small fraction of the total financial infrastructure supporting this movement. Recent analysis reveals that dark money groups spent almost $2 billion on the 2024 election alone, roughly double the total spent in 2020 2. This represents just one election cycle, demonstrating the massive scale of undisclosed political spending that supports Christian nationalist causes.
Q4: About what % of rank and file adherents to or supporters of, knowing or not, understand that the CN movement uses Christianity and theocracy to hide the intentions of CN elites to accumulate wealth and power? Is most of the CN rank and file aware of what they are actually supporting?
A4: Research indicates that most followers of Christian nationalism have limited awareness that the movement's leadership uses Christianity and theocratic rhetoric primarily as vehicles to accumulate wealth and power 1 2. According to PRRI's 2024 American Values Atlas, approximately 30% of Americans qualify as either Christian nationalism "Adherents" (10%) or "Sympathizers" (20%) 3. However, when directly asked about the term "Christian nationalism," only 45% of Americans say they have heard at least a little about it, with just 5% having heard "a great deal" 4. This suggests that many supporters may not even recognize the label applied to their beliefs 3 4.
Among those familiar with the term, only 5% express a favorable view of Christian nationalism, while 24% have an unfavorable view 4. This stark contrast between the percentage who hold Christian nationalist beliefs (30%) and those who consciously embrace the label (5%) indicates a significant awareness gap 3 4.The CN persecution narrative: The movement cultivates a belief that Christians are "the most persecuted group in society," which creates a defensive posture that makes followers less likely to question leadership motives 1 5. White Christian conservatives, especially Protestants, maintain a sense of perpetual persecution, believing they and their values are unfairly maligned by progressive cultural elites 5.
By manipulating ideas to fit their narrative, "evangelical and nationalist elites gain power and keep their following" 8. This manipulation is particularly effective because "religious elites are seen as holy and righteous, having a close relationship with God, so they hold a considerable amount of trust from followers of their faith" 8.
See, CN elites rely heavily on lies and deceit and the ignorance of the rank & file. That is just like MAGA politics generally. In this regard, CN and MAGA are two peas in a pod, both rely heavily on ruthless, cynical dark free speech, a main source of their power, along with their wealth.