Agape Church in Little Rock, Ark., canceled a performance of "Merry Christmas Charlie Brown" after a complaint by an atheist group.

Terry Elementary had planned a school trip to go see the play. The trip was option, but one parent complained and took the issue to the Arkansas Society of Freethinkers.

"The teachers wanted to provide a cultural opportunity to the students through a holiday production," Pamela Smith, with the Little Rock school district, said.

The ASF said students should not be exposed to a show with Christian themes as part of a school field trip.

"We're not waging a war," ASF spokesperson LeeWood Thomas told CBS's KATV in Charlotte. "We're basically calling a foul against the separation of church and state."

Happy Caldwell, pastor of Agape, said he believes the school was within its constitutional rights to bring students to the production.

Nevertheless, he decided to remove his church from the issue by cancelling the showing for students.

"It is not our desire to put hard-working, sacrificial teachers and cast members in harm's way," Caldwell said.