Christmas Carols Now a Form of Bullying?

          Another episode in our society's continuing attempted integration of faith, culture and state is happening in the Northwest.
          An anonymous group of parents in Montana are objecting to the repertoire of the elementary school's Christmas concert. So, a conversation will happen between the superintendent and said parents. Here's a portion of the letter:

          "With many of the children in our neighborhood up here being Jewish and Buddhist, as well as a few Muslim and atheist students, we were assured that this year it would be a secular program. One of the largest complaints last year were the young children singing about ‘their lord.’ This was concerning to many families and it was clear that several of the students were uncomfortable.

          "We have no problem with it being called a Christmas concert, it’s just the fact the material should be secular. Frosty the Snowman, Santa Claus, Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer. These are things that offend no one, but when the children are singing about their lord and savior, Jesus Christ ... public school is not the place."

          You can read the rest here.
          This isn't a surprise to me, as I've long noticed that the mainstream's most popular Christmas carols have little or nothing to do with the incarnation of God. But there's a few quirks to this complaint.
          First, it's interesting that, in this and other contexts, theological lyrics are objectionable, but titles with etymology or another connection that "smacks of the pulpit" (e.g. Christmas, St. Nicholas, holiday, etc.) are not. Second, it ignores an interesting argument from a special education professor that the popular, secular and supposedly non-offensive song "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" actually promotes bullying.
          The article closes with a slideshow and list of new school taboos that could argue that the very definition of "bullying," for example, is becoming eerily and harmfully inclusive.
          My take? As a Christian pastor and musician who has studied music history and some ethnomusicology and, in the past, sung and participated in songs of and in multiple "religious" contexts, I'd take a multi-religious public school concert rather over a religion-free one any day. This will help better build community in the school, and it'd be a lot better of a concert, musically, too. (Sorry, but "non-offensive songs" tend to be low quality musically, etc.).
          But it's sad to think that songs that speak of a loving God coming down to the lowly earth in humble human form to serve, sacrifice and save mankind from itself is a form of "bullying."