Defending "Merry Christmas"

A few years ago, I was talking to one of my co-workers at our office "Holiday Party." Another colleague came up on our conversation, and my friend, Jim, wished him a friendly "Merry Christmas." The individual so greeted was obviously bothered by this greeting. He paused and asked, "Is it?" My friend, Jim, was visibly flustered by this response. One of those heavy moments of awkwardness descended on our group. Not knowing what to do, Jim meekly offered in the form of a question: "Happy Holidays?" "There you go," said the individual, and walked off.

That moment has stuck with me over the years, as symbolic of the debate in our culture that takes place every December. Why are some people offended by "Merry Christmas"? And should it matter that they are?

Is it Wrong to Offend?

The recent societal trends toward multiculturalism and "tolerance" have brought a heavy awkwardness onto our entire society - much like the feeling that brought the above-referenced friendly office party conversation to a standstill some years ago. We're almost afraid now to proclaim anything that might offend others? And when others are offended at some belief, tradition, or greeting, we feel an urge to backpedal and make concessions to the aggrieved party. Why? Should we be so obsessively concerned with offending people?

Most religious and ethical schools of thought will acknowledge, at some level, that a person going out of their way to deliberately offend or injure another party is wrong. There is certainly a rational case to be made against deliberate, flagrant provocation. In my family, for example, I have an uncle who is a fairly devout Jew. For me to send him a blatantly evangelistic Christian tract as a Christmas card would be understandably offensive to him. On the other hand, when he came to my mother's funeral (which I preached), I didn't feel I had to censor out any references to Jesus and the Bible because I might offend him. It was, after all, my mother's funeral - and she remained firmly committed to her Christian faith until the very end. I saw no reason to downplay this at her funeral, notwithstanding the presence of non-Christians, including my uncle, at the ceremony. I believe my uncle understood this, as evidenced my his gracious compliment to me on the service afterward.

Thus, it is wrong to go out of one's way to offend - particularly when offending is the aim and the purpose in what one is doing. But there is a difference between that and feeling like we have to bend over backwards in order to avoid giving the slightest offense to anyone we may come in contact with. My uncle and I, operating from two different faiths, understand this. What can't our society overall understand it?

Is it About Numbers?

Perhaps, one might argue, it isn't that people are offended, it's the number of people offended. In other words, it matters where you are and who you are talking with.

This is an insufficient explanation, particularly in light of the Christmas holiday season. Polls suggest that well over 80% of Americans respect Christmas for its religious underpinnings - and celebrate it in a basically traditional manner. Driving this point home, a recent Zogby poll said that 95 percent of Americans are NOT offended by a "Merry Christmas" greeting in stores. If this is true, are we bending over backwards for five percent of the people, when we censor "Christmas" out of office parties and seasonal festivities? If so, why?

Surely, this isn't about numbers. If it were, just about every single store in America, every single office, and every single public place would proudly have "Christmas" displays and decorations up - and would unashamedly offer "Christmas" parties and the like. This is NOT about numbers.

What is it then?

For that last 20-30 years, we've been so preoccupied with religious pluralism and cultural diversity that we have, in some respects, pushed the majority religion to the proverbial back of the bus. And we've done so with no clear and compelling reason other than a fear of someone getting offended. It's gotten so bad that some schools won't even allow Santa Claus or red and green decorations! How ridiculous can we get?

Of course, the issue goes beyond Christmas. In June, a valedictorian had her microphone turned off for publicly thanking God and mentioning the name of Jesus Christ. It's one thing to say that a taxpayer-funded public school should not officially indoctrinate students according to a specific denomination. It's another to say that a valedictorian, who earned the right to address the graduation assembly by virtue of her accomplishments (specifically, a 4.7 GPA), must forfeit her right of free expression for fear of offending certain audience members. Censorship of religion is, of course, becoming standard practice in the public square.

We can debate (and probably will) the role of religion in the public square. But let's at least agree that people should have the right - the legal right, the moral right and the social right - to express their religious convictions at any time of the year. And this includes people who respect Christmas as a day to honor the birth of Jesus. And these rights (legal, moral, and social) should be respected not only by the government and by our schools, but also by businesses and community groups.

So...Merry Christmas everyone! And God bless you.