School Chorus Sings Altered 'Silent Night,' Removes Religious References

A Kings Park parent is not keeping silent about being offended by the school chorus's rendition of holiday carol "Silent Night."

Kevin McDonald said a Kings Park school teacher removed all religious references from the lyrics of "Silent Night" to avoid offending non-Christians at a fifth-grade holiday concert held at Ralph J. Osgood Intermediate School on Dec. 12. 

Read More: McDonald Offended by Edited Silent Night Lyrics

"Silent Night at its core is a religious song. It's a sacred, religious hymn that tells the story of Jesus's birth," McDonald said at the Dec. 17 Board of Education meeting. 

Superintendent Susan Agruso and R.J.O Intermediate School principal Rudy Massimo said the chorus director pulled out lines of the song with the most religious meaning, as "the chorale director thought it was an appropriate way to represent the song without offending those of other faiths."

"The non-religious words were cobbled together to create something resembling the song and something that would probably pass public scrutiny regarding the separation of church and state," McDonald said. "It should have been off limits." 

A YouTube video of the R.J.O. Intermediate School's fifth-grade chorus performing the altered "Silent Night" was posted by user moosnout on Dec. 15, 2013. 

'This is the first time I've ever performed this song with any chorus," said the Kings Park chorus teacher on video.  

Kings Park Board of Education issued an apology on the school district's website on Thursday afternoon. 

"The Board of Education sincerely apologizes to our community members who were offended by the change of lyrics to the song Silent Night and we share in your sentiment. This action was not approved by the Board of Education or district administration, nor is it their role to approve the songs chosen for our concerts," reads their statement. 

The board trustees assured community members it will be taking steps to ensure something similar does not happen in the future. 

Watch the performance above, which shows lines of the popular Christmas carol were entirely removed from the song and performance rather than altered.