Another School Censoring Christmas
Posted on November 30, 2005
Teachers at a Georgia elementary school reportedly were told to nix any religious pins and refrain from referring to a party as a “Christmas” party, while the local district has censored certain religious Christmas songs from its “winter” program.
The Alliance Defense Fund, a religious-liberties law group, wrote a letter to the district yesterday informing the Jackson County School System in Jefferson, Ga., that it stands on shaky constitutional ground due to its actions.
“Frankly, it’s ridiculous that we’re even discussing whether it’s OK to say ‘Merry Christmas.’ I’m sure just about everyone would rather have a merry Christmas than a meaningless winter holiday,” said ADF senior legal counsel David Cortman in a statement.
Cortman penned the letter to the chairman of the board of education and the superintendent of the school district. According to ADF, the letter was written on behalf of a teacher in the after-school program at Benton Elementary School.
The district has reportedly prohibited teachers from wearing “any pins, angels, crosses, clothing” that contain any religious connotation or affiliation, referring to any party as a “Christmas” party, or displaying a Bible in their rooms. ADF says the district has also removed certain religious Christmas songs from a “winter” concert and censored the word “God” from another song.
“Jackson County school officials are attempting to prohibit teachers from expressing any religious aspect of Christmas,” Cortman stated in the letter. “Classroom decorations may no longer include nativity scenes and angels. Jackson County has gone so far as to prohibit the common greeting ‘Merry Christmas,’ and also now refers to the Christmas break as ‘Winter Break.’”
Says the attorney: “Many school districts aren’t trying to be difficult; they simply don’t know the facts about the law. The fear, disinformation and intimidation that the ACLU and other groups like them have promoted over the years with regard to religious expression on public property at Christmastime have led to such misconceptions. ADF desires to educate schools, teachers, and students on the truth about what the law really says.”
The Alliance Defense Fund has set up a site devoted to letting people and schools know their rights in religious expression during Christmas. Know Your Rights!
Support Christmas: Sign the Petition
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6 Responses to “Another School Censoring Christmas”
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I’m nominally a “Christian” by birth (I’m a WASP) and an affirmed atheist who half-heartedly celebrates the commerical version of the holiday supposedly under attack. I’m sick and tired of hearing about these goings-on as well, and would wish anyone I knew wasn’t Jewish, etc. a merry Christmas by way of greeting.
Yet one can’t help but see this as loudmouthed Jesus freaks getting a taste of exactly what they so richly deserve after years of trying to cram their sectarian nonsense into every cranny of America, even those where it clearly is unwelcome and doesn’t belong (e.g., science classes, courts of law).
The word of the day, kiddies, is “backlash.” Let this be a lesson to many of you to regard faith first and foremost as a personal matter, not a mandate aimed at Americans who couldn’t give two turd-nuggets about ol’ Jeebus.
And I thought you libs were supposed to be tolerant. I would like to hear some examples of how the Jesus freaks are trying to cram anything down your throat. Seeing a church as you drive down the street or hearing Christmas music is not a valid answer.
You do realize that it takes just as much faith to not believe in God as it does to believe in God don’t you?
Oh, my dear Lisa, backlash indeed. But it isn’t going to be against Christians and traditionalist, but the secularlist Left (and the ACLU). I can’t remember the last time a Christian Church or any other religious Organization, Temple or Mosque, crammed or attempted to cram anything down my throat. However, the tolerant left is constantly trying to police my thoughts, words and conduct at every turn. Political Correctness is constantly attacking free expression. I can’t tell a female coworker that I like her dress, its sexual harrassment; I can’t say Merry Christmas because 1 fool out of a million feels my goodwill greeting is offensive; I can’t question the wisdom of affirmative action because that is insensitive to minorities; now a teacher can’t where a religious pin in class because by some weird stretch of the imagination that is a state endorsement of religion; and on and on. The current screaming of outrage by Christians has happened because enough is enough. I’m happy to live and let live but I refuse to be silent while the left takes away my 1st Ammendment rights, you know freedom of religion and freedom expression, both political and religious. Oh, by the way believe it or not no one give two shakes of a rats ass what you believe as long as you do me the same courtesy we will get along just fine.
Merry Christmas Sweetheart.
My Holiday wish:
“Grandpa, where is the ACLU located today?”
“Why, it’s right there in Washington, D.C., across from the U.S. Capitol.”
“You mean that big white-marble building where the Supreme Court used to be? The one with the statues of Mohammed and Ruth Bader Ginsburg?”
“Yes, David. You see, the country decided that since, in effect, the ACLU and leftist judges determined almost every American law in the last 50 years, as well as being the final word as to what is Constitutional, we might as well dispense with the Supreme Court and locate in that building America’s real judicial, legal power: the ACLU.”
Hey Lisa, tell that to our founding fathers, like Ben Franklin, who advocated the teaching of “a public religion in our schools, and the excellancy of Christianity above all others.” It was founded as a Christian nation, and all these futile little battles and attacks on Christmas and prayer will only win us more elections as they always do. The word isn’t “backlash”, its “communism”, since commies are the only ones who look at the establishment clause and some how interpret that to mean “no public worship.”
God made this country and eerything else…it is extremely depressing that our Lord and Savior’s birth is being forgotten… He saves us and some people are trying to wipe His name out of our world, but they still want to “Holiday Season”. I guess all I can say is God bless them all…