Christmas Without Christ
Aaron Vierra
Issue date: 12/5/07 Section: Opinion
'Tis the season for tolerance, not censorship. Suppressing displays of faith is not the way to deal with America's differences. Is Christmas becoming the winter holiday that dare not speak its name?
I figured that something strange was happening when I viewed some tips in a People Magazine article called "Holiday Tree Fire Hazards. I noticed the greeting card front, where explicit Christmas messages are losing ground to the secular ""Season's Greetings,"" ""Happy Holidays"" and ""Peace.""
My youngest sister's teacher in Rhode Island recently raised an issue when he changed "Christmas" to "winter" in one of the songs in a public school choral class. (At least someone thought to complain.)
Something is going on here, and it's only partly the fault of the American Civil Liberties Union. Americans, perhaps out of tolerance or maybe just shame, are subtly editing their speech to play down the religious content that makes this time of year so significant in their common culture.
What exactly is making them do this? There's no denying a certain anti-Christian hostility in some of the culture-war activity that always crops up this time of year. But another part of the story may be self-censorship by millions of well-meaning, liberal-minded people who hold their tongues for fear of offending someone. For them, the idea of toning down Christmas may seem a sensible way to keep social peace in a religiously diverse land. The less people remind one another of their differences, the more they can pretend to be the same.
The same desire to soft-pedal divisive issues seems to animate some of the criticism toward Mel Gibson for making a film that hews all too closely to the biblical narrative of the Crucifixion. This is a story that has been a source of division between Christians and Jews for 2,000 years. What's the point of retelling it? The answer, from Christians, is that the story is at the center of their faith, as is the Christmas story. Pushing either beyond the edges of polite public discourse does not eliminate the differences between Christians, Jews and others. It simply drives the differences into the background and makes honest dialogue less likely.
America was founded on principles of religious freedom and tolerance, not on timidity. That's why it remains a land of diverse faiths.
The U.S. should never let itself get to that point, and it won't, as long as its people of faith feel truly free to state their case.
I figured that something strange was happening when I viewed some tips in a People Magazine article called "Holiday Tree Fire Hazards. I noticed the greeting card front, where explicit Christmas messages are losing ground to the secular ""Season's Greetings,"" ""Happy Holidays"" and ""Peace.""
My youngest sister's teacher in Rhode Island recently raised an issue when he changed "Christmas" to "winter" in one of the songs in a public school choral class. (At least someone thought to complain.)
Something is going on here, and it's only partly the fault of the American Civil Liberties Union. Americans, perhaps out of tolerance or maybe just shame, are subtly editing their speech to play down the religious content that makes this time of year so significant in their common culture.
What exactly is making them do this? There's no denying a certain anti-Christian hostility in some of the culture-war activity that always crops up this time of year. But another part of the story may be self-censorship by millions of well-meaning, liberal-minded people who hold their tongues for fear of offending someone. For them, the idea of toning down Christmas may seem a sensible way to keep social peace in a religiously diverse land. The less people remind one another of their differences, the more they can pretend to be the same.
The same desire to soft-pedal divisive issues seems to animate some of the criticism toward Mel Gibson for making a film that hews all too closely to the biblical narrative of the Crucifixion. This is a story that has been a source of division between Christians and Jews for 2,000 years. What's the point of retelling it? The answer, from Christians, is that the story is at the center of their faith, as is the Christmas story. Pushing either beyond the edges of polite public discourse does not eliminate the differences between Christians, Jews and others. It simply drives the differences into the background and makes honest dialogue less likely.
America was founded on principles of religious freedom and tolerance, not on timidity. That's why it remains a land of diverse faiths.
The U.S. should never let itself get to that point, and it won't, as long as its people of faith feel truly free to state their case.
Viewing Comments 1 - 3 of 3
MsRoxs
posted 12/12/07 @ 10:09 PM EST
Yes Yes so true Blue.......... LET'S KEEP CHRIST IN CHRISTMAS*********** I ENJOYED READING YOUR WELL WRITTEN ARTICLE, HATS OFF TO YOU YOUNG MAN.
GOD BLESS
Katyana25
posted 2/14/08 @ 12:33 AM EST
While I enjoyed your article, I feel that it wasn't complete. There are thousands of religions other than the two you mentioned by name which is extremely important to mention. (Continued…)
Wilma Walker
posted 3/23/09 @ 6:18 AM EST
That looks like lots of fun. When I was in college we didn't had so many fun activities.
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