California Family Minute

December 19, 2011

Nativity Display Disputes: the New Christmas Tradition

by Rebecca Burgoyne, 
CFC Research Analyst

For decades at Christmas season, church-sponsored nativity scenes dominated the landscape in a coastal Santa Monica park. This year, however, most of them were displaced by non-religious displays, mocking Christianity as a myth. Traditionally, a coalition of 13 local churches claimed 14 of 21 designated vandal-proof display spaces. This year, with a new lottery system in place, atheists snagged all but three of the spaces. Adding insult to injury, the atheists have chosen only to use three of the slots – silencing the Christmas message. 

At Travis Air Force Base, near Sacramento, a group called the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, asked that a nativity scene and menorah – currently displayed among a host of secular holiday symbols – be removed or moved to the base chapel. One Air Force wife told the San Jose Mercury News that, though the group wanted the symbols moved due to their values, they failed to “appreciate” the values of those who enjoyed the religious significance of the symbols. 

Such disputes in recent years have become the new Christmas tradition. In Madison, WI, a "slightly blasphemous, slightly irreverent" counter-display went up, celebrating the winter solstice, the "true reason for the season," in response to a Capitol nativity scene. The Freedom from Religion Foundation (FFRF), which displayed the banner, said in a statement, “We non-believers are quite willing to celebrate the fun parts of anybody's holidays. We just want to be spared the schmaltz, the superstition – and the state-church entanglements.” 

Saturday, the Air Force responded to the Travis complaint, saying, “While we appreciate the concerns raised by the Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF), the Office of the Air Force Judge Advocate General, upon review, concluded the inclusion of a Wing Chaplain sponsored Nativity Scene and Menorah as part of a broader, secular holiday seasonal display does not violate the establishment clause of the United States Constitution.” The response of MRFF: “…we suggest five words: tell it to the judge.”

A “reasonable person” doesn’t drive by nativity displays on an Air Force base and think the military is endorsing religion; no, a reasonable person assumes that it is Christmas – a holiday celebrated by a majority of Americans and service personnel. However, instead of tolerating diversity a vocal minority is trying to silence celebration for the majority – fighting it with messages of “Reason’s Greetings,” lawsuits, and complaints. Christmas may have won the recent skirmish at Travis Air Force Base, but – unless people of faith unite, learn our rights, and speak out – the fight will continue to erupt, continuing a slow, but concerted attack on religious liberties in our nation.