An eighth grader at a New Jersey middle school was sent home Friday after he dressed up as Jesus Christ for Halloween.

Alex Woinski, 13, wore a white robe, red sash, sandals, fake beard, and crown of thorns on his head after receiving encouragement from his friends, who said he looked like Jesus with his shoulder-length hair.

When Alex arrived at West Brook Middle School in Paramus, however, officials told him he could only keep the costume on if he removed the beard and the crown of thorns.

School officials said the costume was a disruption and denied its religious nature had anything to do with it.

“Children were [asking], where is the boy who is Jesus Christ?” Principal Joan Broe told a local CBS affiliate. “It was disrupting the education process.”

Alex, however, refused to heed the school’s orders and was sent home.

When asked what school officials told him the reason for being sent home was, Alex recalled to the local news station, “It was offensive to some students.”

Alex, whose mother is Catholic and father is Jewish, recently celebrated his Bar Mitzvah and says he has developed an interest in religion. He is reportedly studying the Bible.

Despite the reception he received at school, Alex was not discouraged from donning the costume to go trick-or-treating Friday night.

Yet it’s perfectly OK for people to dress as little devils, or for girls to dress as naughty nurses or devilish whores. . . . Pardon the harshness, but c’mon. This is ridiculous. It’s the same thing as using the Lord’s name in vain. Everyone says “Jesus Christ.” NO ONE says “Buddha.” It just doesn’t happen. Hmm…

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