Children at a British primary school were told not to sing the phrase “little Lord Jesus” in the beloved Christmas carol “Away in a Manger.’
Instead, boys and girls at Whitehall Primary School in Essex were told to sing “baby boy Jesus.”
The words “Jesus the Savior” in the son “Love Shone Down” were replaced with the words “Jesus the baby. And the Christmas carol “Come and Join the Celebration” was altered as well. “New King born today” was replaced with “a baby born today.”
Parents accused the school of taking the Christ out of Christmas.
“If he was just a baby boy named Jesus, there wouldn’t be a celebration in the first place. He is our Lord and Savior and King of all Kings – that’s the whole point,” one parent said.
School leaders told the Daily Mail that the decision to remove the Lordship of Christ was made to accommodate other religious beliefs.
“In the past, not all were able to come together to celebrate Christmas, so we have worked hard with our local church to ensure the celebrations this year are accessible to all our children to participate in, together, as one,” the spokesperson told the newspaper.
Christian Concern, a British religious advocacy group, denounced the school’s decision.
“Removing the Lordship of Christ at Christmas guts the Christian message of its truth, around which the whole of Western civilization once based its culture,” spokesperson Andrea Williams said.