Religious Christmas songs banned at New Jersey school

It is another educational issue that comes up year after year- what type of music is appropriate for a Christmas program at a public school?

And for that matter, is it appropriate to have a Christmas program at a public school?

We live in an era where we have many schools referring to the programs as "holiday" or "winter" concerts no matter what type of songs are performed.

A New Jersey school has taken the stance that no religious songs can be allowed:

The conservative legal group Alliance Defending Freedom is battling the Bordentown district’s choice, though. It fired off a letter asserting that district official misunderstood the court ruling.

“We write to explain that every federal court to examine the issue has determined that including Christmas carols and other religious music in school choir programs fully complies with the First Amendment and to urge you to immediately rescind the new policy instituted by administrative officials.”

The letter went on to say that in 1993 a federal court in New Jersey upheld the Cherry Hill (N.J.) school district’s “policy of including religious symbols and objects in calendars and displays that the district produced for Christmas and other seasonal events.”

While I risk offending some of my friends at ACLU, I have to wonder why school officials made such an aggressive mood to get rid of the songs when previous court decisions have said they are OK and it does not appear that anyone was challenging the inclusion of the songs in concerts.

It sounds like a case of political correctness gone wild.