Christmas and Chanukah Displays
“Congress Shall Make No law . .
.”
By Steve Skojec
Every
year around this time, the stories begin popping up about certain atheists
battling with people of faith over religious holiday displays on public
property. They say it’s a question of the Constitutional separation of Church
and State. Religious folks say it’s about the free exercise of religion in a
Judeo-Christian country. It’s become as much a ritual of the season as Black
Friday camp-outs and gingerbread lattes.
It
would appear that none of those advocating the removal of public religious
imagery have actually read the First Amendment to the Constitution, which states:
Congress shall make no law respecting
an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or
abridging the freedom of speech . . .
Allowing
“free exercise” of religion in no way makes a “law respecting an establishment
of religion”. In fact, it’s a mandated principle of the First Amendment — that
the government stays out of the way of religious expression. No reasonable
person can conclude that putting a creche and a Christmas tree and a menorah on
public property — representing the major religious traditions of vast majority
of Americans — establishes a state religion.
I admit, I struggle
to understand atheists who want “equal time” for their “holiday” displays.
Atheism is not a religion. The desire to combat the religious beliefs of
a majority of Americans through public spectacle is certainly not of interest
to many atheists, but those who do take up that fight seem not to see the irony
of trying to have their beliefs triumph over those of other Americans. Insofar
as they might prevail in forbidding any public religious display from any faith
tradition, they are in effect making atheism the state “religion”. Does
this double-standard not matter to them?
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