A Kansas public school was forced to remove a photo of Jesus that hung in the hallways for decades after receiving complaints from a separation of church and state group.
Royster Middle School housed a very recognizable portrait of Jesus in its school hallways, but the Chanute school district received a complaint from the national Freedom from Religion Foundation and was forced to take the portrait down Thursday, according to Wichita Eagle.
The southeast Kansas town is home to 9,200 people and 30 churches, where many feel that the picture's removal was unjust, especially those who remember the portrait fondly.
Erika Semey went to the middle school a decade ago and is disappointed in the portrait's removal.
"That's what's wrong with this world. Not enough people have Christ in their lives," said Semey.
But officials with the Freedom from Religion Foundation celebrated the picture's removal, saying that it was wonderful that the picture was taken down so quickly, according to Fox News.
The lawyer for the school district advised Chanute Superintendent Richard Proffitt that the district could not legally display the picture.
The foundation called the picture "an egregious violation of the First Amendment" and, in an open letter to Proffitt, cited multiple Supreme Court decisions to support its claim that the school was in violation of the law, WIBW reported.
The picture has since been stored out of sight.
