Out of Their Minds

Community Comments

Holiday v. Christmas

Confusion and conflict over how to behave in a religiously sensitive way during the holiday season has been on the rise in recent years. Several major retailers, such as Macy’s and Target, were chastized last year by conservative religious groups for downplaying Christmas terminology in favor of more generic “happy holidays” greetings and decorations. Schools and government agencies have also run into public outcry and lawsuits over whether to display “Christmas” trees and allow religious music in school concerts.
    Rob Boston is assistant communications director for the Washington, D.C., nonprofit group Americans United for Separation of Church and State, an organization that works to guard against government agencies promoting religion.
    Mike Johnson is senior legal counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund, a national conservative Christian organization headquartered in Scottsdale, Ariz., that works to protect and promote religion through legal and political means.
    Harrison Sheppard sheds light on the matter from both sides of the tree.

Mike Johnson

Senior Legal Counsel, Alliance Defense Fund
How should schools treat Christmas trees and religious symbols in school concerts and programs?
“The Supreme Court has never ruled that celebrating Christmas in a school context is unconstitutional. It’s perfectly legitimate for students to celebrate the holidays, for public schools to include religious and Christian symbols in their displays, to list the word Christmas in school calendars.
    “The problem is we have a lot of school administrators, parents, and teachers who have been misled to feel those things are unconstitutional.”

Have a lot of schools actually suppressed the use of the word ‘Christmas?’
“Thanks to the ACLU and allies like Americans United for Separation of Church and State, Christmas has been eliminated from many public schools now. It’s been banned out of fear.
    “There are plenty of examples. Kids are banned from wishing our soldiers ‘Merry Christmas;’ that’s in Plano, Texas. In Mine Hill, N.J., they changed the words of ‘Silent Night’ to ‘silent night, winter night.’ In Jackson County, Ga., teachers were told they couldn’t wish students ‘Merry Christmas.’
    “It’s not just a blue state/red state issue. It goes counter to the overwhelming majority of Americans who oppose censoring Christmas.”

But wasn’t our country founded on the separation of church and state? Isn’t recognition of Christmas a violation of that idea?
“The true purpose of the First Amendment was merely to prohibit the federal government from establishing a national church or requiring that sectarian policy be forced on the state or federal government.
    “In this country we’re guaranteed freedom of religion, not freedom from religion.”

Some people say the idea of a “war on Christmas” is overhyped.
“If the ‘war on Christmas’ didn’t exist, why are all these Christmas celebrations and symbols disappearing from the schools? Why are retailers changing their signs to ‘happy holidays’ as opposed to ‘Merry Christmas?’
    “Last year, a lot of retailers and others received a backlash. So perhaps the pendulum will begin to swing bac k.”

Are retailers getting pressured by the public to censor Christmas?
“No, I think the opposite. The public outcry is they need to maintain the traditional references to Christmas and be able to say ‘Merry Christmas.’
    “Last year we saw petition drives and calls to corporate headquarters. Some of that had the desired effect. It remains to be seen how it will be handled this year. When people take their dollars elsewhere, that can reverse the trend.”

Rob Boston

 

Assistant Communications Director, Americans United for Separation of Church and State
Should schools be allowed to put up trees and call them Christmas trees? What about religious-themed songs in school concerts?
“Schools have to be sensitive to these issues, because they do serve a diverse religious population. That doesn’t mean schools have to ignore Christmas, because Christmas has secular and religious meanings in our culture.
    “I think the best place to celebrate Christmas as a religious event is always going to be the home and the church. Schools can look at the secular aspects of Christmas, put up secular decorations and put on a winter concert that includes religious and secular music. But public schools should not be celebrating Christmas as a religious holiday.”

Should they also recognize other holidays like Hanukkah and Kwanzaa?
“I think it’s a good idea for public schools to look at all the holidays that take place at the end of the year. And I think it’s best for public schools to use the December holidays to teach about religion, to discuss religion as an academic subject.”

What about government agencies? Every year there’s a debate about Christmas trees on public property. The tree in front of the Capitol was called a holiday tree under Gov. Davis, but under Gov. Schwarzenegger, it is again a Christmas tree.
“The vast majority of people who see a decorated evergreen tree in December are going to think it’s a Christmas tree. It almost doesn’t matter what it’s called.”

What about retailers? Should they put up “Christmas” trees or “holiday” trees? Should they wish their customers a “Merry Christmas” or “happy holidays?”
“Retailers aren’t subject to government regulation and can approach the holidays in whatever manner they choose. Retailers obviously want to maximize profits. They don’t want to run the risk of offending anybody. So many of them are going to use more generic language.
    “I feel sorry for anybody whose holiday experience is defined by what sort of salutation they receive from a checkout clerk. It’s silly.”

Some people think there’s a “war on Christmas” led by organizations such as yours and the ACLU.
“I think the idea of a ‘war on Christmas’ is ridiculous. Anyone can go out into society in December and see it’s Christmas time. There’s no shortage of decorations, holiday garlands and all sorts of signs and symbols of the holiday season.
    “I think what some on the religious right are angry about is that some businesses are seeking to be a little more inclusive.
    “They’re hearkening back to the mythical time when America was a Christian nation. But society has changed, and it doesn’t make sense for a businessman to alienate segments of the buying public by assuming customers belong to a certain religious denomination.”

• Share
  • Digg This
  • del.icio.us
  • Newsvine
  • Facebook
  • Reddit
  • Furl It
  • !Y My Web
  • Google
• Email
• Print

Recommend This

Community Comments