War On Christmas Research Paper
Andrea Perez
October 22, 2012
English 115
Mahta Rosenfeld
The War on Christmas In the United States, strange things are happening during the holiday season. A jolly “Merry Christmas” is met with offense, nativity scenes illicit anger, and people are fighting over tradition! People have named this “The War on Christmas”, which is a tad dramatic, but there is a ridiculous amount of unnecessary conflict surrounding the holiday season. These conflicts primarily began to arise in the 1950s, due to a growing diversity in the United States. For example, during that time Minnesota dealt with a series of church-state controversies in public schools, including the question of student involvement in Christmas activities in school (Dierenfield). However, it was also in the 1950s …show more content…
The best way to approach the “war on Christmas” would be to have respect and tolerance for other people’s traditions. A large majority of U.S. residents are Christian, so obviously there is a prominent representation of their traditions in the United States. This is fine, and people need to realize that this is to be expected. However, Christians also should not think this makes them superior, and they too need to be equally tolerant and respectful of others. Cathy Young shares the same view, stating, “Those Americans who don’t celebrate Christmas obviously have to be tolerant of the vast majority who do; but they also have a right ro a public square which does not loudly tell them they don’t belong” (Young 417). Religious expression should be acceptable as long it isn’t being disrespectful toward others and isn’t being used to impose their beliefs on others. Therefore the display of religious Christmas decorations should be ethically accepted because it is doing no harm and is often only a form of private religious expression in order to show devotion to one’s religious
October 22, 2012
English 115
Mahta Rosenfeld
The War on Christmas In the United States, strange things are happening during the holiday season. A jolly “Merry Christmas” is met with offense, nativity scenes illicit anger, and people are fighting over tradition! People have named this “The War on Christmas”, which is a tad dramatic, but there is a ridiculous amount of unnecessary conflict surrounding the holiday season. These conflicts primarily began to arise in the 1950s, due to a growing diversity in the United States. For example, during that time Minnesota dealt with a series of church-state controversies in public schools, including the question of student involvement in Christmas activities in school (Dierenfield). However, it was also in the 1950s …show more content…
The best way to approach the “war on Christmas” would be to have respect and tolerance for other people’s traditions. A large majority of U.S. residents are Christian, so obviously there is a prominent representation of their traditions in the United States. This is fine, and people need to realize that this is to be expected. However, Christians also should not think this makes them superior, and they too need to be equally tolerant and respectful of others. Cathy Young shares the same view, stating, “Those Americans who don’t celebrate Christmas obviously have to be tolerant of the vast majority who do; but they also have a right ro a public square which does not loudly tell them they don’t belong” (Young 417). Religious expression should be acceptable as long it isn’t being disrespectful toward others and isn’t being used to impose their beliefs on others. Therefore the display of religious Christmas decorations should be ethically accepted because it is doing no harm and is often only a form of private religious expression in order to show devotion to one’s religious