Charlie Brown’s Christmas is on the outs at an elementary school in Little Rock, Ark. — at least among atheists who are calling foul over a planned student trip to see a stage production of the beloved Peanuts story.
The trouble began when students at Terry Elementary School brought home letters detailing the trip to see “A Charlie Brown Christmas” at a local church, according to a report from Arkansas’ KARK. A parent who had a problem with the play’s content notified the local atheist group of the field trip.
“We’re not saying anything bad about Charlie Brown,” Anne Orsi, vice president of the Arkansas Society of Freethinkers, told KARK. “The problem is that it’s got religious content and it’s being performed in a religious venue and that doesn’t just blur the line between church and state, it oversteps it entirely.”
“A Charlie Brown Christmas” is about the title character’s struggle to overcome the holiday’s commercialism and embrace the true meaning of Christmas. The holiday classic culminates with the character Linus quoting from the second chapter of Luke.
While students can opt out, the parent whistle blower who preferred to remain unnamed told KARK that she is letting her child go because she does not want her child to be bullied.
The church, Agape, told KARK that they have offered other family friendly shows to students in the past without issue and the Little Rock School district said that they do not endorse any religion.