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NEWS PROVIDED BY
FrontlinesOhio
Jan. 20, 2025
LEXINGTON, Ohio, Jan. 20, 2025 /Standard Newswire/ -- 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.
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.”
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.”
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.
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.
The clergy letter sent to over one-hundred Wisconsin school boards consisted of 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.
For more information, go to: https://frontlinesohio.com/index.php/2025/01/05/ohio-clergy-turn-tables-on-ffrf-atheist-group-wisconsin-youth-would-benefit-from-lifewise-video/
SOURCE FrontlinesOhio
CONTACT: Benjamin Mutti, 419-884-3648, bjmutt@gmail.com
