by D.T. Holt
From where I sit, the very notion that there is some sort of an attack being waged on Christmas and that Christians, who by any count are in the majority in this country, are somehow a persecuted minority is laughably ridiculous. Yet every year at this time, conservative radio personalities and conservative Christians alike lament the growing threat to this venerable religious holiday.
Some point to the very idea that those of us who are more sensitive to the multitude of faiths and belief systems in America, choose the slightly more generic “Happy Holidays” over the more specific “Merry Christmas.” A woman I know insists on defiantly wishing everyone she meets a “Merry Christmas,” usually following it up with “did you notice I said MERRY CHRISTMAS!” Christians often proclaim things like “I wouldn’t be offended if one of my Jewish friends wished me a Happy Hanukah” but that is completely missing the point. The problem isn’t that a non-Christian may take offense. It’s not about hurt feelings but instead about an unwillingness to acknowledge other viewpoints.
Another front in this so-called war, involves the nativity displays that appear in the public squares of virtually every town and village in the country. Invariably a few advocates for the separation of church and state will enjoin court action to remove one of these ubiquitous, publicly sanctioned religious displays. The Bill O’Reillys of the world will then rave about the traditions of Christmas and the supposed traditional Christian values that this country was founded on. Again, this is missing the point. The Constitution grants us freedom of religion, but it also grants us the freedom to not have a religion, in effect, the freedom from religion, if we so choose. A Christian specific display on public property, often paid for and maintained by public funds amounts to government sanctioned religion, which is a clear violation of our Constitutional rights as citizens of this country.
Because most of us will be celebrating Christmas, the idea goes, public displays and Christian-centric greetings are to be expected. Those who are either non-Christians or choose not to celebrate this holiday should just casually look the other way. When the first amendment states that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,” it doesn’t specify an exception if the religion in question is in vogue with a majority of the population. The fact that most Americans celebrate Christmas has no bearing on the appropriateness of religious icons or celebrations in the public domain.
While I am one of the many Americans who celebrate Christmas, my celebration of it is more about fellowship with family and friends that it is about my religious beliefs and I suspect that this is true in varying degrees for a large percentage of us. With this in mind, it is important to remember that American culture is a patchwork quilt that encompasses a multitude of viewpoints and belief systems. Far from being seen as an attack, efforts to confine this holiday to the private sector of our places of worship and homes should be applauded as an example of American’s ability to embrace the true spirit of religious freedom granted to us by our Constitution.
Happy Holidays.
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