A British website is accusing churches of political correctness after they made changes to age-old Christmas carol lyrics, the Telegraph reports. Vicars say the edits aim to remove gender-specific or racially charged words, but the editor of a Christian site calls it "a festive car crash. Half the congregation sing familiar words from memory, while the rest stumble over revised alternatives."
Changes at some churches include:
- "Glory to the Christ child, bring" will replace "Glory to the newborn King"
- "O come in adoration" in place of "O come let us adore Him"
- A new "Twelve Days of Christmas" that mentions drug addiction and AIDS
- The cutting of "virgin" from "God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen"
The website, Ship of Fools, is holding a contest to name its least favorite lyric changes.
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