Much-loved Christmas carols are being rewritten to make them politically correct, it is claimed.
Pastor Dale Morgan
*Much-loved Christmas carols are being rewritten to make them
politically correct, it is claimed.*
By Martin Beckford
Published: 7:30AM GMT 23 Dec 2009
The Telegraph UK
Verses are being changed by clergy and teachers to remove supposedly
chauvinistic references to men, sons and kings, making them “gender
inclusive”.
Even the word white is being censored for fear of racism accusations,
while some schools and churches no longer sing about the virgin Mary.
Many parishioners feel it is unnecessary to meddle with the words of
carols that have been sung for centuries without causing any offence.
In many cases the new words do not fit the tune, causing choirs to
stumble over them.
People who only go to church once a year to sing carols are also left
confused when they find the words they remember have been changed.
Nic Robinson, a teacher from Derbyshire, told of his “bemusement and
sadness” to find at a recent carol service that many of the words of
Hark! The Herald Angels Sing had been tampered with.
The original - written by Charles Wesley, one of the founders of the
Methodist movement – included the lines “Born that man no more may die”
and “Born to raise the sons of Earth” in the third verse.
But the version printed on the service sheets at Mr Robinson’s
daughter’s school had “Born that we no more may die” and “Born to raise
us from the earth”.
Another line in the second verse had been changed from “Pleased as man
with man to dwell” to “Pleased with us in flesh to dwell”.
Mr Robinson said: “I am sure some bishop will write now, explaining,
kindly, that hymns have been evolving throughout the ages and that this
one, in particular, has known many versions. May I ask the bishop not to
bother, but rather to spend his time in contacting the people who have
defaced my favourite carol.”
A survey carried out by Ship of Fools, a satirical Christian website,
found that many churches now sing “Glory to the Christ child, bring” in
the same carol, rather than the better-known “Glory to the newborn King.”
Readers of the website found other “car crash carols” in which the word
“Lord” had been changed to “peace” and “sons” to “stars”, for fear of
appearing sexist.
Some churches have altered the words to Once In Royal David’s City,
removing a reference to children “all in white” and replacing it with
“bright like stars”.
Modern versions of God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen have taken out the
reference to a “pure virgin bright” and inserted a line about “David’s
town tonight”.
Last year a Church of England vicar banned his congregation from singing
O Little Town of Bethlehem because he believed the words did not reflect
the plight of current occupants of Jesus’s birthplace.