Government and the "holidays"

Kilarney

My local town hall has Christmas lights adorning the front of the building. There are no religious symbols whatsoever.

Is this okay?

Discuss.

By the way, I saw on the news the other day a menorah being lit on state property by the governor of California (Arnold).

Since I've never really researched it, can someone tell me why the ACLU has never blocked this?

Discuss.

Rym

I suppose theoretically, the town could put lights up for any reason at any time: these lights just happen to be put up during a holiday. ^_~

For my entire life, Christmas has been purely a secular holiday, and I've celebrated it as such. I am a staunch advocate of the clear separation of church and state, but I find it perfectly reasonable to celebrate what is effectively a secular holiday season that is traditional to the majority of American citizens, so long as religion is not brought in along with it.

TheWhaleShark

As long as the town doesn't put up religious decorations, it's all good. On your own property, you can put up whatever decorations you damn well please.

MarcusNoble

Well so long as the decorations aren't affiliated with any particular religion, I don't see a problem.

Jason

I see absolutely no problem with government recognizing or even celebrating the dominant, mainstream religion(s) of its citizens, as long as it does not endorse that religion. Placing a creche or menorah on government property isn't even a problem in my eyes.

This, I feel, is the fundamental difference between separation of church and state, and separation of church from state -- while one feeding off another is inherently wrong, the law does not implicate a complete divorce of the two. Can you see the semantic difference?

I think it is a shame that our country has to turn its back on our cultural heritage in the name of civil rights. There are ways that government may still golf clap for religion's ideals without hugging its trappings.

Rym

I actually endorse the complete divorce of the two, and I don't believe that the idea of religion should in any way be accounted for by government. Churches shouldn't be afforded special tax status beyond a normal non-profit organization, religious entities shouldn't be afforded more freedom than secular organizations, marriage licenses shouldn't have anything at all to do with ministers, etc...

In many ways, America verymuch should turn its back on its religious heritage in order to move forward beyond the baseless superstitions of its ancestors. If the government celebrated "Christmas" purely as a secular holiday to remember our past, it would be one thing. To actually celebrate the religious basis of the holiday, or any religious holiday, with government time/money/resources, is wrong.

Religion has no place whatsoever in government beyond a pure historical context.

Jason

*Shrug*

I just think that if our government is for the people and by the people, then it should reflect the people. If government celebration of Christmas is an endorsement of Christianity, then a total divorce of Christmas from government is a reverse endorsement -- a rejection of Christianity. While many of us might want to do that, there is hardly a logical, fair way to say that we should reject a mainstream philosophy or belief system out of hand.

Whether we like it or not, Christianity is big in America, and should be represented by our representative government, even if in only a detached, ceremonial manner rather than an aggressive, evangelical one. Otherwise, we're just another intellectually oppressive system of government.

HMTKSteve

Judeo-Christian values form part of the basis of the rule of law in America.

With that said, I feel government should be "religion blind" in the same way it should be "color blind."

No law should be written to penalize or benefit religion in any shape manner or form.

Religions are not non-profit, have you seen the gold domes on some religious institutions?

If a publicly elected figure wants to celebrate a religious holiday "on their own time" I'm fine with that. Otherwise there should be nothing religious in government. Government is it's own religion, it doesn't want the competition.

Speaking of "color blind," do you know how many times a "minority owned" company gets a job even when a better company is available just because they are a minority? Bids should be sealed with a price and an ID number. A second envelope should have the ID number on it and the company contact information inside it.

Yes Rym, government should either be the sole authority on marriage licenses or drop the business entirely. To much has been assumed by the words "promote the general welfare" in the Constitution.

That line has been corrupted to mean "promote the specific welfare" and it needs to be fixed.

Rob From the Army

All around the military base I am currently stationed there are huge Christmas trees, Santa Clause, Snowmen, and signs that say Merry Christmas. I don't know what all the fuss is about.

Apreche

I never thought about it before, but my old town always had a christmas tree and a menorah on the town hall lawn. I guess it's ok as long as any religious group can put something up as well.