An effort to outlaw a student piano performance of Joy to the World has been thwarted in Northern California.

The Benzel family reached out to Pacific Justice Institute (PJI) after their 13-year-old daughter Brooklyn’s musical choice was rejected by her Education Specialist at South Sutter Charter School.

The specialist, who oversees independent-study charter school students, said the carol was not acceptable because it has religious content. She suggested “Jingle Bells” = instead because it is secular.  

Her parents couldn’t believe it. Joy to the World has been played and sung during Christmas for more than 300 years. In emails, school officials said words like “Savior” and “Heaven” are “problematic” and they must “err on the side of caution” while rejecting Joy to the World.

The family couldn’t believe it. For one thing, it was an instrumental performance, so those “objectionable lyrics” were not a part of the piece. Secondly, the performance was not scheduled at a school but at a retirement center for some elderly folks who really wanted to hear it.

 The Benzel family contacted PJI. PJI’s attorney Matthew McReynolds, who spoke to the school’s attorney and the school abruptly reversed course, telling the Benzels they had changed their position after determining that Joy to the World is “non-sectarian.”    

Brad Dacus, president of PJI, commented, “Without fail, the grinches come out every year during the Christmas season to try to take away timeless traditions and censor our speech. PJI is committed to preserving our cherished freedoms as Americans, both at Christmas and throughout the year.”

The assault on religious freedom and Christian holidays continues.