Schools, Cities Oppose 'Christmas Censors'
Lawyers, individuals stand up to the ACLU.
Christians who are fighting to keep Christ in Christmas have 700 new weapons. This year, the Arizona-based Alliance Defense Fund signed up more than 700 lawyers to defend the celebration of Christmas in public schools and facilities. The ADF, an evangelical Christian organization, is leading the Christmas Project, a national effort to stand up to groups such as the American Civil Liberties Union, Freedom From Religion Foundation, and Americans United for Separation of Church and State.
A 2000 Gallup Poll found that 96 percent of Americans celebrate Christmas. Still, it's getting harder to figure out how to celebrate in public without being sued. The public's puzzlement about what is allowed at Christmas is part of the problem, Christian rights groups say.
A publicly sponsored nativity scene on public property is constitutional – as long as a secular symbol of the holiday is part of the display, said Mathew Staver, president of the Florida-based Liberty Counsel. "The same holds true for publicly sponsored Christmas pageants with religious music," Staver said. Staver said that privately sponsored nativity scenes on public property are constitutional, even in the absence of a secular symbol. But "to avoid any confusion, it is probably best to have a sign nearby acknowledging the private sponsorship," he said. If a school hosts an event where students are permitted to select the content of their songs, "an individual student may sing a religious song." Organizations like the ACLU have been successful in taking advantage of ignorance of the law, rights groups say. They also have used bullying and lies to get their way.
The ACLU "uses fear and intimidation and disinformation to get school districts and other government entities to censor Christmas in ways no court has required," Jordan Lorence, senior counsel at ADF, told Christianity Today. The ACLU sometimes sends letters to schools saying a certain activity is unconstitutional, even when it isn't, and schools often comply in order to avoid a lawsuit, he said. "People need to know the truth that the censorship of Christmas is not required by the Constitution," Lorence said. "I find it maddeningly frustrating that the ACLU writes these letters." The ADF has a sample letter that people can send to public officials. It is available on its Web site or by calling 1-800-TELL-ADF.
This year, several cities seem to want to allow celebrations of Christmas – as long as it's not recognized as a Christian holiday.
*In Meriden, Conn., a public library refused to display paintings of Jesus' nativity and resurrection as part of its rotating display of local art. However, attorneys for the Virginia-based Rutherford Institute persuaded library officials to allow local artist Mary Morley to include paintings on Christian subject matter in her exhibit. The Rutherford Institute's telephone number is (434) 978-3888.
*In Queens, N.Y., Andrea Skoros got angry with a school because it would not allow her child's nativity scene to be part of its holiday display, even though it allowed a menorah and an Islamic crescent. She contacted the Thomas More Law Center and filed a federal lawsuit against the school system. The center, a Roman Catholic group based in Ann Arbor, Mich., defends Christians in discrimination cases. Its telephone number is (734) 827-2001.
*In Indianapolis, the Indiana University School of Law caused a commotion when it removed a 12-foot, undecorated Christmas tree after complaints that it was a religious display. The school replaced the tree with a generic winter scene featuring two smaller trees and a sleigh. Law professor Florence Roisman, who complained about the original tree, said that even undecorated it was a symbol of Christianity on government property, The Indianapolis Star reported.
*The city of Troy, Mich., near Detroit, forbade private citizens from placing Christmas displays on public property at Troy City Hall. Challenges from the ACLU in recent years have forced many metropolitan-Detroit cities to abandon the tradition of displaying manger scenes, according to The Detroit News.
*Calvary Chapel in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., sued when the county refused to let it participate in a two-mile-long Holiday Fantasy of Lights with a design that read, "Jesus is the reason for the season." The church contacted the Rutherford Institute, and a judge ruled in favor of Calvary Chapel, saying the county could not prohibit the church's message if it allowed others. "Once you open a forum, you cannot have religious-viewpoint discrimination," said John Whitehead, president of the Rutherford Institute.
*In Elizabeth, Colo., the state ACLU threatened to sue Elbert County Charter School for refusing to remove all religious songs from its holiday concert after a Jewish family complained that "the children felt unwelcome and unsafe," according to The Washington Times. "What is absolutely crystal clear is the ACLU has an agenda of radical secularization of all institutions," said Barry Arrington, legal counsel for the school.
*In Hanover Township, N.J., no religious songs were planned to be included in holiday concerts in public schools this year because officials worried about "what was perceived as imbalance of religious music that would be counterproductive to children," Superintendent Salvatore Sansone said. Demetrios Stratis, a lawyer allied with the ADF, sent a letter to school officials explaining the relevant laws so the officials could "ensure that the Hanover Township School Board is in compliance with the law to avoid litigation." The board reinstated Christmas music.
*In Lawrence, Kan., the ACLU urged a school district to investigate elementary schools that allowed a minister dressed as Santa Claus to discuss the meaning of Christmas and to refer students who appeared to need guidance to Christian resources. The schools also grant missionaries access to students in after-school programs, Charisma magazine said.
Christians should realize that they don't have to buckle under the bullying of the ACLU, Christian rights groups say. No court has ordered school officials to censor Christmas carols or to eliminate all references to Christmas, said Alan Sears, president of the ADF. Congress has proclaimed Christmas to be a legal public holiday, and celebrating it is "part of being an American," he said. So what about the often-cited "wall of separation between church and state"? The U.S. Supreme Court first used Thomas Jefferson's phrase in 1947 to interpret the First Amendment's "establishment clause," which forbids Congress from making laws "respecting an establishment of religion." However, in that same case, the court declared that "state power is no more to be used to handicap religions than it is to favor them."
Another sore point among some Christians is the commercialization of the season. It's gotten to the point that some Christians seem to have given up on Christmas – at least on what it has become in American culture. "I'm not sure it's worth keeping Christmas anymore," columnist Cal Thomas wrote. "I love the original Christmas. I have come to detest the masquerade that does not even pretend to be what it was when I was growing up. That other Christmas I intend to keep. This monstrosity I will try with increasing difficulty to ignore."
Others are continuing the fight against commercialization. A couple in Virginia recently established a Web site to fight against the trend to censor Christmas in retail stores. GrinchList.com, which began last Christmas, describes which companies are becoming politically correct and lists those that are still celebrating Christmas.
GrinchList.com encourages people to contact listed organizations to voice their concern by way of e-mail, letters, in-store complaints, telephone calls and by taking their business elsewhere. Contact information for many of the companies listed is included on the site.
SOURCE: RELIGIONJOURNAL.COM