Legal Advice to U.S. Schools: Don't Be a Grinch About Christmas
by Jim Brown
October 25, 2005
(AgapePress) - A Christian educators group is teaming up with a Christian legal group as part of a national campaign to warn schools against prohibiting celebration and discussion of Christmas. The campaign, called "Friend or Foe," provides education about celebrating Christmas in public schools and on public property. For the past three years, Florida-based Liberty Counsel has conducted the campaign, offering pro bono legal advice and defense to government entities that do not censor Christmas, but filing suit whenever Christmas is censored.
Joining Liberty Counsel this year is the Christian Educators Association International, which is asking its 8,000 members to be the "eyes and ears" of the campaign. CEAI executive director Finn Laursen says the members of his organization are being encouraged to report incidents of religious discrimination -- specifically, attempts to censor Christmas -- as the holiday approaches.
"We're finding that there's an increase of adversarial attitudes really resulting in religious discrimination when it comes to the recognition of Christmas in our public schools," Laursen shares. "There are some schools that really believe that the holiday needs to be sanitized out of school."
The CEAI leader says schools that willfully engage in religious discrimination will be challenged in court by Liberty Counsel. Contrary to what many school administrators believe, he says, Christmas is not constitutionally "taboo" in public schools.
"The public school, because it's an arm of the government, cannot inhibit the expression of religion," he explains. "And we have to admit that Christmas is certainly a major part of our culture across this nation, both by those that are faithful and also from a secular perspective."
Laursen notes that students have the right to say "Merry Christmas" and to sing Christmas carols -- and teachers have the right to display Nativity scenes. In the past, he explains, some schools have even gone to the extent of mandating that during the month of December, the colors red and green cannot be used because they may be interpreted as promoting Christmas -- and suspending students for handing out candy canes with cards attached that describe the celebration of Christmas.
As part of the campaign, CEAI members will be distributing to school districts and government officials a seven-page memo from Liberty Counsel [PDF] explaining that schools are not "religion-free zones," and that the right to free speech includes the right to distribute printed material -- including such things as Christmas cards.
Jim Brown, a regular contributor to AgapePress, is a reporter for American Family Radio News, which can be heard online.
