LifeWise Academy is a step closer to bringing the organization’s Bible study program to students in Bensalem Township.
The Ohio-based organization confirmed that they have hired a director for the Bensalem chapter and are now moving on to step eight of launching a LifeWise: training the team.
This instruction period can take anywhere from two to six weeks, followed by an estimated 12 plus week period to officially start the program.
Once launched, students who choose to enroll in LifeWise will leave school at a given time in the day, usually during elective courses like gym or art, and head to an off-campus location for religious study.
The organization, which aligns itself with “historic, orthodox Christian beliefs,” states on its website that the program is open to any and all students, not just Christian ones: “LifeWise Academy recognizes that the Bible was foundational to the forming of our society. We believe all students, regardless of religious background, can benefit from a greater understanding of such an influential book.”
The Heritage Foundation — the right-wing think tank that authored Project 2025 — awarded LifeWise a 2025 innovation prize, an accolade given for “creative solutions to the most pressing issues facing America.” LifeWise Academy’s critics, like the Secular Education Association, argue the organization’s real mission is to dismantle the wall separating church and state in public education.
READ: A Program Taking Kids out of Class for Bible Study Tests Boundaries in Public Schools
When children leave class is determined by school personnel — in consultation with LifeWise Academy — according to the organization’s educator manual.
The program uses a Pennsylvania law that allows for 30 hours of release time religious education, as long as that instruction is off school grounds, privately funded and parent approved.
Bensalem school officials met with representatives from LifeWise in June, according to Susan Phy, the district’s communications liaison.
“During those conversations, LifeWise representatives explained that the program would provide character education through Bible study at an off-campus location during the school day, once per week for approximately 40 minutes,” Phy said.
LifeWise also noted that students would be released during their lunch period and have secured a location for the Bensalem chapter.
READ: Quakertown School District Responds to LifeWise Academy News
As of now, Phy clarified that the dialogue between the district and the religious education organization has been “informational in nature.”
Once open, Bensalem’s chapter would be the second in Bucks County, with a LifeWise program currently enrolling students in Quakertown.
