One of the many things that makes living in the United States attractive to people from all over the world is the freedom to worship as we choose. The principle of separation of church from state is argued in courts across the country to ensure that the majority doesn't bully the minority with its rules and dogma.
If we really want to coexist peacefully with others, then religious tolerance is one important key to that peace. It shouldn't matter if a person honors God, Goddess, Allah, Buddha, Mohammed or has no religious affiliation. However, the War on Christmas alerts us to the fact that the majority still rules when it comes to the December holiday season.
According to the 2010 Statistical Abstract published by the U.S. Census Bureau, 76% of the adult population in the U.S. identified themselves as Christian. Of that total, the adults identified their religious affiliation as follows:
- 25% Catholic
- 16% Baptist
- 11% Christians with no denomination identified or tagged as nondenominational
- 5% Methodist/Wesleyan
- 4% Lutheran.
The remaining 15% was scattered among a wide variety of Christian-based religions. Only 4% of the adults identified themselves as Jewish while 15% did not specify a religion and 5% did not reply to the question.
It's easy to wish others a happy holiday to be inclusive. However, as reported by the Skepticism Examiner, last year 72% of the Americans polled preferred the Christian oriented Merry Christmas cards to Happy Holiday cards. That figure is not surprising when compared to the 76% Christian population.
Us versus Them
The trouble with such seemingly trivial arguments of Merry Christmas versus Happy Holidays is that it makes it easy to identify who is Christian and who is not. Wars and crusades have been fought throughout human history with the religious deity as the reason for the war. When will we learn from the pain and destruction of the past?
Who cares about the war on Christmas? Any conscious human who would rather live in a world where people can be free worship or not worship. The majority should not rule when it comes to spirituality and religion.
Happy Holidays to All,
Caryn Colgan
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