Every Holiday season is the same thing. We are told by conservatives that there is a ‘war on Christmas’ where saying ‘Merry Christmas’ isn’t allowed and public schools aren’t allowed to sing religious Christmas songs and how this will destroy our world… yadda yadda. The ‘war’ is poppycock but why is it that atheist or freethought holiday displays seem to be the only ones vandalized during the season? If there is a ‘war’, it is on inclusion not Christmas.
Tag: freedom of religion
On June 17th 1963, the US Supreme Court handed down its landmark decision that supported the separation of church and state in public schools – Abington School District v. Schempp. Even 50 years after the decision, we seem to have to fight the same battle over and over again. That is what happens in the struggle for civil rights. You have to be vigilant or they can be taken away. We need to celebrate dissenters like Schempp and we all need to try and emulate his activism.
The first Thursday in May is the National Day of Reason. It was created as a response to the National Day of Prayer held on the same day. the National Day of Reason is to celebrate reason – a concept all Americans can support – and to raise public awareness about the persistent threat to religious liberty posed by government when it takes sides.
December isn’t the Christmas season – it’s the ‘War on Christmas’ season. It’s the time when the religious right and their propaganda machine called FOX “news” whine and complain if they aren’t allowed to shove their religion down your throat through the use of a diorama of the fictional birth of the savior of said religion based in a public spot like a park or a court house. Listening to the religious right one would assume God would quit if he didn’t see said dioramas in said park. Yeah, right?
I gave an e-mail interview to the website Progress Planet that was posted last night. Progress Planet takes a more liberal stance on religious issues and is a site Secular Left could work with on church and state issues. Check out the interview and their website.