Lobbying & Government Entanglement
Lifewise is actively pushing legislation changes all over the country. We believe as a non-profit organization with tax-exempt 501(c)(3) status Lifewise should not be lobbying anywhere near the extent we are seeing. The fact that they are also a “ministry” adds a religious factor that just makes the entanglement of this organization into the political sphere even more problematic.
The situation we find is precisely that which our nation’s founders tried to protect us from.
When states (and their elected officials) are simultaneously being intentionally targeted by a religious ministry (with tax exempt N.P.O. status) to get laws put in place using a legislative template that directly further advances their organizational growth, financial income and agenda….we don’t have freedom from OR of religion.
Lifewise has stated their ultimate goal is to get a law on the books in every state that REQUIRES all public schools to accommodate their R.T.R.I. program. To accomplish this Lifewise started initially pushing these legislative changes in states they refer to internally as “low-hanging fruit”. These are states such as Indiana and Ohio, where there are like-minded lawmakers, as well as laws currently in place saying schools “MAY” allow students to leave for R.T.R.I. classes. They then get bills introduced which, if passed, will change the language to “SHALL”. This takes the power away from the schools entirely; the decision about what is best for their students should be left to those in the local community, not mandated by the state at religions request.
Lifewise has already been successful in Indiana and is currently leading proponent testimony in Ohio. For more information or to get help submitting testimony in opposition to this bill being passed in Ohio please visit Honesty For Ohio Education
The emails below (also found here) show how deeply Lifewise is involved in orchestrating both the introduction and campaign of these bills. You can clearly see how they are working behind closed doors directly with lawmakers as well as quietly organizing, encouraging and actually providing the public support.
