Christian program LifeWise expands across Northwest schools, raising church-state questions

( FāVS News ) — A controversial off-campus Christian education program for public school students, which has sparked conversation about the intersection of church and state, is gaining traction across the Pacific Northwest.

The national program, LifeWise Academy , is growing especially fast in Washington, now offered in 14 schools with teams working to establish the program in 26 other school districts, said LifeWise state director Alise Morrisey. And local community members — 50 local signatures are required as the first step to launch the program — have shown interest in establishing it in 245 of the estimated 295 school districts.

“I think that there’s some good movement happening in Washington,” she said.

The Bible-based curriculum, which officials said is open to all regardless of faith, takes children out of class during the school day for religious education. Critics argue it incentivizes children to recruit others to its classes and has elicited worry about the proper separation between church and state. Proponents, however, argue the Supreme Court made it possible for programs like LifeWise to exist through a 1952 ruling and say it improves children’s lives.…