ELLICOTT CITY, MD – Should people say, ‘Merry Christmas’ or ‘Happy Holidays'? The self-proclaimed "war on Christmas," touted by many during this time of year, can cause strife during this season of joy.
Two experts versed in this debate, discuss the religious and secular implications of each in our latest episode of An Imperfect Union.
Barry Lynn
Barry Lynn is an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ and spent 25 years working for the "Americans United for Separation of Church and State," where he was the executive director.
“There is no war on Christmas,” Lunn said, “there’s not even a skirmish on Christmas. There’s not even a little tiny battle about Christmas. This is all a phony argument.”
"What is wrong with saying Happy Holidays?” he added. “Why wouldn’t you, as an organization that’s trying to sell stuff to people, why wouldn’t you want more people to feel welcome in your store, no matter what you’re selling. I think it’s good business and its respectful of the diversity that’s at the core of what America not only is now but is becoming more in the future.”
David Whitney
David Whitney is a pastor of Cornerstone Evangelical Free Church in Pasadena, MD. He also works for the Institute on the Constitution. Its mission, according to the website, is to “restore American Founding Fathers’ Biblical, Constitutional, American view of law and government.”
“There is a definite attack that wants to kind of expunge Christmas,” Whitney said.
“I was very glad to hear President Trump saying we need to say, ‘Merry Christmas,'” he added.
“This debate is rooted in the idea that says we have to somehow all be alike,” Whitney said. “If we can eliminate religious differences, that somehow we can all get along and things will be smooth. I don’t think that’s correct. I think that’s a mistake. We are a diverse nation to celebrate that diversity, as some people want to do today, you have to allow each of those religious traditions to be able to express themselves fully."
Meeting
I find this whole idea that there is a war against Christmas to be literally an absurd fringe idea,” Lynn told Whitney. “You can’t not look anywhere in this season of the year, you can’t go to a gas station, a grocery store, good heavens not a shopping mall and not know that there is this major celebration called Christmas going on.”
“Where the attack on Christmas is happening is in public lands,” Whitney said. “That is courthouses and state buildings and schools. They’re saying, ‘we cannot refer to Christmas. We have to eliminate Christmas from the calendar,’ and say winter holidays and things like that.”
“What’s wrong with that?” Lynn asked.
To see how their conversation unfolds, watch the full episode of An Imperfect Union
