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Mistletoe, Snow and Subpoenas? 12/10/2004 Freedom of worship is under increasing attack each Christmas season. With the day of celebration of our Lord's birth just weeks away, it is distressing to think that true freedom of worship for Christians is hindered by political correctness. In recent years, America has taken a turn for the secular and removed many religious elements of the Christmas season from public schools, spaces and events.
Last year, my home church, Calvary Chapel Fort Lauderdale, took up legal proceedings with Broward County, Florida, because the church's submission for a display at the annual "Holiday Fantasy of Lights" festival at a county park was rejected. The county contended that since the display contained the church's logo, featuring a cross, it would not be eligible for the festival; they believed it to be offensive to non-Christian visitors.
After months of battling, the county allowed Calvary Chapel to keep its display and logo, but the church had to reword the accompanying sign. It was changed from its original "Jesus Is the Reason for the Season," to "Calvary Chapel Says Jesus Is The Reason for the Season."
"Two thousand years ago, a public official refused a mob's request to alter the inscription he had written on the cross on which Christ was crucified, from 'This is Jesus of Nazareth the King of the Jews,' to 'He said, 'I am King of the Jews,'" said Jan LaRue, chief counsel for Concerned Women for America (CWA). "Even Pilate had enough sense to know truth shouldn't be altered because it might 'offend' somebody."
Events like this are not uncommon. A Christmas concert in a Wisconsin public school last year had to remove the "religious" words from Christmas carols (including all references to Jesus or God), and secular terms replaced the phrases. A public school in Georgia prevented its employees from conducting any Christmas-related activities, including making decorations or displaying candy canes, due to religious implications. In some places, school employees have been banned from wearing Christmas attire altogether.
Some efforts are already underway this year as well. In LaGrange, Kentucky, the Oldham County Fiscal Court denied a request by local Grace Baptist Church to construct a live Nativity scene on the courthouse lawn for the annual "Light Up LaGrange" festival. Protests from the ACLU concerning last year's Nativity scene caused the Court to devise a policy on November 16 banning all "unattended" displays from the lawn. Grace Baptist Church may keep its crèche, the court ruled, but it must now be moved across the street to private property.1
The most disturbing aspect of recent government and court action is the unconstitutionality of banning religious holiday expression. According to court precedents:
The Christian legal group Liberty Counsel, based in Orlando, Florida, fights the removal of God from the public square. Each year, it receives a flood of questions around Christmastime regarding religious displays. As a response to the blatant disregard for the religious meaning behind the Christmas season, Liberty Counsel began a nationwide campaign to prevent the removal of Christ from Christmas.
Now in its second year, the "Friend or Foe" operation is a public declaration that Liberty Counsel plans to "sue any government agency that discriminates against public displays of religious symbols or songs."6
Liberty Counsel President Mat Staver says: "We are resolved to stop the Grinch from stealing Christmas. This nation was founded by people who sought to freely exercise their religious liberties. We have no intention of letting these liberties fall by the wayside or be chilled every holiday season by uninformed or hostile government officials."7
Other religious groups have freedom of worship during their holiday seasons. A Catholic League news release recently outlined the provisions made for Muslim students all over the country during their holy month of Ramadan in October.
The release claims that Muslim students at Ygnacio Valley High School in Concord, California, used school facilities for daily prayer services. The same occurred at North Atlanta High School in Georgia, where prayer services were held in a classroom. In Herndon, Virginia, a teacher from a Muslim school brought her students to public schools to teach others about Ramadan.
As we enter this especially holy time of year, Christians must stand for the religious liberties inherent in the founding of our nation. The freedom of expression and worship that are afforded to one religious group must be given to all; anything less is unconstitutional. Let us be aware of the attacks on our freedoms this Christmas season, and fight them wherever possible. We must restore our celebration of the true reason for the season.
Eva Arlia is an intern with CWA's Ronald Reagan Memorial Internship Program.
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Concerned Women for America 1015 Fifteenth St. N.W., Suite 1100 Washington, D.C. 20005 Phone: (202) 488-7000 Fax: (202) 488-0806 |
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