SCOTTSDALE, Ariz.—The Alliance Defense Fund announced today it has more than 700 attorneys available nationwide to combat any attempts to censor the celebration of Christmas in schools and on public property.
"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 is to inform and educate the 96% of Americans who celebrate Christmas regarding their rights."
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’s Christmas Project features more than 700 trained attorneys, ready to combat continuing efforts to censor Christmas. 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.
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 1-800-TELL-ADF.
ADF is America’s largest legal alliance defending religious liberty through strategy, training, funding, and litigation.
www.telladf.org