Disney May Have Dropped Christian Poem for Religious Reasons

The removal of a Christian-themed poem on the life of Christ from a Disney event may have been intended to avoid offending non-Christians, The Blaze is reporting.

The website originally reported on the removal of the poem "One Solitary Life" on Dec. 10. At that time, a Disney official said the poem was removed from the annual "Candlelight Processional" at Epcot and Disneyland because of time considerations.

But since then a singer involved in the production told The Blaze there is more to the story.

A group of singers was given the same explanation in November, but a different group was told days later at another rehearsal that "as they were going through the script and making changes to wording, the sentiment behind the poem was one that they didn't feel should be made in this current environment, which seemed to imply that they were not wanting to offend people," said the singer, whom The Blaze did not name.

There was an audible gasp in the room when the second announcement was made, the singer said.

The change comes as a recent poll shows that just half of Americans now view Christmas as a chiefly religious holiday, and some conservatives see a "war on Christmas" being waged.

"One Solitary Life" was written by Dr. James Allan Francis in 1926 and is about Jesus' life, death, and impact on history. It had been part of the Disney program since 1976.

The poem ends with the words: "Nineteen centuries have come and gone/And today Jesus is the central figure of the human race/And the leader of mankind's progress/All the armies that have ever marched/All the navies that have ever sailed/All the parliaments that have ever sat/All the kings that ever reigned put together/Have not affected the life of mankind on earth/As powerfully as that one solitary life."

The following video shows the 2012 performance, with "One Solitary Life" included at the 42:10 mark: