SCOTTSDALE, Ariz.—The Alliance Defense Fund has contacted more than 6,700 school districts across the nation within the last two months explaining the law with regard to the celebration of Christmas in the public schools.
“The phrase ‘separation of church and state’ is not in the U.S. Constitution, but because of the fear, intimidation, and disinformation groups like the ACLU promote, many public officials and educational leaders mistakenly believe it is their duty to silence Christian religious expression,” said ADF President Alan Sears. “ADF’s goal this season has been to inform and educate the 96% of Americans who celebrate Christmas regarding their rights.”
ADF’s Christmas Project includes the mobilization of a nationwide force of more than 700 allied attorneys available to combat any attempts to censor the celebration of Christmas in schools and on public property.
In November, ADF delivered the same information on the law to every state board of education and National Education Association (NEA) chapter in the country, as well as to the national NEA office and the U.S. Department of Education. Among the 6,740 school districts contacted are every school district in the states of Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Maine, Maryland, Mississippi, Nebraska, Texas, and Virginia, as well as numerous school districts in other states.
The goal of ADF’s Christmas Project is to clear up misconceptions about seasonal religious expression on public property:
- The U.S. Supreme Court has never ruled that public schools must ban the singing of religious Christmas carols or prohibit the distribution of candy canes or Christmas cards.
- School officials may refer to a school break in December as “Christmas Vacation” or as a holiday without offending the Constitution.
- School officials do not violate the Constitution by closing on religious holidays such as Christmas and Good Friday.
- No court has ever held that celebrating Thanksgiving and Christmas as religious holidays requires recognition of all other religious holidays.
- The “Three Reindeer Rule” used by the courts requires a municipality to place a sufficient number of secular objects in close enough proximity to the Christmas item (such as a crèche) to render the overall display sufficiently secular. Although the overall display must not convey a message endorsing a particular religion’s view, Christmas displays are not banned as some people believe. Simply put, the courts ask, “Is the municipality celebrating the holiday or promoting religion?”
ADF will represent people of faith, as well as school districts or other entities, free of charge to defend their freedom of speech regarding Christmas even after Christmas is over.
The United States and its presidents historically have recognized religious holidays such as Thanksgiving and Christmas. On December 24, 1944, President Franklin D. Roosevelt spoke to the nation, saying, “Here, at home, we will celebrate this Christmas Day in our traditional American way because of its deep spiritual meaning to us; because the teachings of Christ are fundamental in our lives; and because we want our youngest generation to grow up knowing the significance of this tradition and the story of the coming of the immortal Prince of Peace and Good Will.”
“We want to dispel the myths about religious expression at Christmastime that have prompted wrongful acts of government censorship of religious speech,” Sears said. “It’s okay to say, ‘Merry Christmas!’”
ADF has prepared a free informational pamphlet titled “The Truth about Religious Expression at Christmastime.” An informational letter that can be sent to school officials regarding the law and Christmas expression is also available. Visit our
resources page or call 1-877-TELL-ADF.
ADF is America’s largest legal alliance defending religious liberty through strategy, training, funding, and litigation.
www.telladf.org
Related Information
Townhall: Column by Suzanne Fields
Townhall: Column by John Leo
Renew America: Column by Doug Hagin
Washington Times: Article by Jennifer Harper