Merry Christmas. For generations “Merry Christmas” has been a time-honored greeting. In recent years “Merry Christmas” has fallen out of favor in some quarters because it was felt to be less of a greeting and more of a claim of Christian hegemony that disregarded or disrespected other religious traditions. “Happy Holidays” has been widely regarded as an acceptable substitute, as it acknowledges the diversity of cultural and religious practices that take place at this time of the year.
Merry Christmas is making a comeback as a greeting, partly because Christmas has become more of a cultural phenomenon than a religious celebration, what with the annual flood of advertising, frenzy of shopping, and wishes of good cheer and peace on earth; and partly because I would like to think that there is a greater awareness and appreciation of other religious practices – that Christmas is one holiday among many.
For me, and I suspect for many of us, the graciousness of the Christmas greeting has been undermined, if not hijacked, by what I consider to be expressions of Christian hegemony that were issued by various government departments and their leaders. From Secretary of State Marco Rubio: “the joyous message of Christmas is the hope of Eternal Life through Christ.” From the Department of Homeland Security: “Merry Christmas, America. We are blessed to share a nation and a Savior.” And from Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth: “Today we celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.”
Framed as greetings, I received them as messages: that a certain interpretation of Christianity is not only the cornerstone of the American ethos, but that we need to subscribe to it. That a particular brand of Christianity is being implied, if not imposed. For one thing, these expressions are a breach of the first amendment; “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof”. The founders of our democracy intended for there to be a separation of church and state. That said, they recognized the importance of religion and its expression. Some have described religion as a “load bearing wall” against which the fragile democracy can lean.
Religion is important. The founders recognized that — and sought to protect both religion and democracy. Their wisdom is an essential dimension of American genius. The Latin root of the word religion is religio, which refers to the stories, practices and values that bind people together. But even more important is that religion is meant to be given free expression. We are free to accept, ignore – or even repudiate religion. And there are literally hundreds of religious expressions that people can embrace or walk away from.
The Christmas messages from these and some other government departments imply that America is not only a Christian nation, but a country with a circumscribed Christian theology. Christianity then becomes transactional: something that we need to buy into if we want to be considered legitimate and patriotic Americans.
Try as I might, I can’t help but receive this year’s government issued Christmas greetings as political polemics.They insinuate that there is a correct way to embrace America as a Christian nation. I resent these messages, because they suggest that non-Christian religious traditions do not have a place in the American pantheon, but also because these government greetings boil down the many interpretations, practices and experiences of the Christian story into one particular expression.
What I have learned in my life-long journey as a Christian is that while love is Christianity’s foundational value and goal, it is not some commodity that can be traded in the marketplace. Love is not something you wrap up and put under the Christmas tree. Love is expansive. It is not limited to one definition. It needs to be explored. Love begs to be shared. People can’t be forced into love; they need to be invited.
I find myself becoming even more committed to supporting religion as the load bearing wall of democracy. The strength of that wall is predicated on honoring the wide array of religious expressions, histories and practices. And making sure that there is space between the wall and the operations of government. And mightily resisting any and all attempts to limit the extraordinary diversity of the wall, and at the same time expose any and all efforts to bring the wall under the roof of government.
Happy holidays.
