Religious Right bent on sowing acrimony
By Barry W. Lynn
knight ridder/tribune
WASHINGTON -- Christmas is supposed to be a time of peace and goodwill, yet the Religious Right seems bound and determined to use the holiday season to sow division and acrimony.
Even before Halloween, Jerry Falwell, the Alliance Defense Fund and their allies were spreading wild tales about an alleged "war on Christmas" and vowing to sue public schools and local governments that don't cave in to their demands. It's an odd way to spread cheer during the holidays.
Every American has the right to celebrate the religious holidays of his or her choosing. Throughout December, houses of worship all over the land will offer special services recognizing the holy days of our major faiths. That apparently isn't enough for some. They want government to get in on the act as well.
To hear the Religious Right tell it, it just isn't Christmas without a Nativity scene on the steps of city hall or students singing "Silent Night" in the public schools. As a Christian minister, I've never been able to figure out why some people want the government to get involved with their religious holidays. It just doesn't make sense.
Sense of community
Anyone who turns to city hall for a meaningful religious experience is bound to be disappointed. A house of worship that shares your religious sentiments can give you a real sense of community, fellowship and devotion -- so why not start there?
Frankly, I resent it when government officials move in on the religious community's turf. I also don't understand why so many people are intent on making a big fuss about public school holiday concerts. Public schools serve children of many different faiths and none. They seek to welcome all of them and their families.
Many schools now hold "Winter Concerts" or "Holiday Concerts" with music that reflects the diversity of their students. I've been to many school concerts with my children at this time of year that allowed parents to hear talented young people performing only non-religious material. It's unrealistic to expect all-devotional music in a public school program, but churches do offer that.
Trying to wrest a meaningful religious experience out of a secular government body is an exercise in futility. Religious Right groups tell lots of crazy-sounding stories. According to them, public schools have banned children saying "Merry Christmas" and ordered students not to wear red and green.
These sound like tall tales to me.
Religious Right activists regularly attack the public school system and these urban legends sound like more of the same. If a handful of school officials out there have made missteps, the answer is to educate them about what the law requires, not assume that all 15,000 public school districts in America are hostile to religion.
What does the law say?
It's simple: Public schools are free to teach objectively about religion at appropriate places in the curriculum, and many do so. Students may learn about different cultures and their holidays -- as long as the purpose is to educate, not indoctrinate.
The courts have held that state and local government may include religious items in larger holiday displays that include non-religious elements but they certainly aren't required to do so. Wouldn't it be more respectful of our nation's religious diversity to let churches display cr & egrave;ches and sponsor carol sings rather than the government?
Aggressive TV preachers
It's a shame that legal groups run by aggressive TV preachers want to turn Christmas into just another skirmish in the culture wars. Advocates of church-state separation have nothing against Christmas, and our opponents know that. We defend the right of Christians to celebrate Christmas just as we defend the right of Jews to observe Hanukkah, Muslims to observe Eid Al Fitr and Wiccans to celebrate the Winter Solstice. Just don't ask government to take over the job.
Christmas can be as religious as you want it to be -- but the decision must be yours alone. Don't expect the government to lend a hand.
In conclusion, I'd like to wish everyone "Happy Holidays!" -- even Jerry Falwell.
X The Rev. Barry W. Lynn is executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State. He is an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ and a longtime civil liberties attorney. Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Information Services.