Atheists want school to stop playing Handel's 'Hallelujah', accuses song of 'proselytizing'
The atheists from the Freedom From Religion Foundation (FRFF) are once again attempting to remove any trace of Christianity from schools after they complained about the "Hallelujah Chorus" being played in a school in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.
The atheist group is upset after a teacher at Linden Elementary School played a part of the George Handel's "Hallelujah Chorus" during morning announcements.
"While this music may be beautiful and even inspirational for Christians, it is not acceptable for broadcasting to the entire student body at Linden Elementary," Aleta Ledendecker wrote in a letter to the school district, which was obtained by the Oak Ridger.
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Ledendecker also said in the letter that the FRFF is acting on behalf of two parents, who had children enrolled in the school. "In consideration of all the possible choices of music, this piece with its distinctly religious content can be interpreted as proselytizing," she added.
Ledendecker even urged the school district to consider the feelings of Christians if they were to walk in to the school and hear music with the words, "Praise Allah. Allah is king on high. Bow down to Allah," blaring through the PA system.
However, the school district paid no heed to the complaint made by the FRFF and informed the "Todd Starnes Show" that the teacher's decision to play the "Hallelujah Chorus" was justified.
"The passage was selected to correspond with the school's overall music curriculum that, for that particular week, featured the musical works of George Handel," the school spokesperson said in a message shared to Charisma News.
"The school system strongly disagreed with her position and, through our school board's attorney, we responded promptly to the writer, suggesting that she was in error," the spokesperson added.
The school district believes Lendecker only acted upon "insufficient information" that was "taken entirely out of context." The spokesperson added that Lendecker has a "fundamental misunderstanding of the First Amendment's relationship with historically sacred classical music compositions being taught in a public-school music curriculum."
