MARION, N.C. (WordNews.org) Dec. 4, 2012 – An elementary school here has removed the word “God” from a first grader’s poem honoring her grandfather’s military service, Alliance Defending Freedom said.

In the poem, the student wrote of her grandfather who served in the Vietnam war: “He prayed to God for peace, he prayed to God for strength.” The school forced the girl to remove the references to God.

Alliance Defending Freedom, formerly known as the Alliance Defense Fund, has sent a letter to the school urging it to reverse course.

“The censorship of this young student’s poem about her grandfathers is repugnant to the First Amendment rights of all students and sends an impermissible message of hostility towards religion,” wrote Legal Counsel Matthew Sharp, adding that “the First Amendment protects the right of students to discuss their faith–especially when they are discussing a historical event like this student in her poem honoring her grandfathers.”

The letter requests changes to the school district’s policies to ensure that unconstitutional censorship does not continue to occur at any of the district’s schools.

“Students should not be censored when speaking about their faith or honoring those who valiantly served to protect our freedoms,” Sharp wrote. “The poem described the historical actions of her grandfather, and the Constitution protects such student expression at school.”

Alliance noted the school is just 25 miles from a North Carolina college that censored the phrase “Christmas trees” before reversing course last week.