A Sermon by the Rev. Daniel Charles Davis

For the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Winston-Salem

December 2, 2007

          Last year, five days before Christmas, a menorah was placed on the courthouse lawn in Maui, Hawaii. The ACLU threatened to sue, saying that this constituted government endorsement of religion.

          Chanukkah celebrated the rededication of the temple in a war in Jerusalem over 2,100 years ago. The Greeks had erected their gods in the public square, and the Jews resisted. The Maccabee brothers overthrew the Greeks and cast their gods out of the temple. Reportedly, they relit the lamp in the temple, but they only had oil enough for one day. The oil miraculously lasted for eight days. Thus, Chanukkah is an eight-day holiday where an additional candle is lit each night. This year, Chanukkah is celebrated December 4-12. Thus, none of the candles on our menorah are lit today.

          Unitarian Universalists recognize Chanukkah because we believe it is possible to learn from all religions. Learning about religion helps us to better understand and love our neighbors. We are not threatened by the diversity of religion. We do get concerned when someone proclaims they have the one true religion.

          Which brings us back to Maui and the establishment of Chanukkah as the official religion.

          According to the Maui News, "County workers raised a festive tree at the Kalana O Maui Building Wednesday with just five days to go before Christmas, after receiving a letter from the American Civil Liberties Union warning that the existing holiday display of a [Chanukkah] menorah was unconstitutional. The letter threatened a federal lawsuit if the display was not corrected.

          "That’s fine, to have the menorah up, but it needed to be part of a holiday display that was secular in nature," said Deputy Corporation Counsel Traci Fujita-Villarosa. "We’re just adding to the holiday decorations."

          County information officer Ellen Pelissero said the lighted menorah was set up earlier this month after members of the Maui Mitzvah Center, a Jewish outreach organization, asked if they could display it at the county building.

          "The rabbi asked the mayor if he could put a menorah up and he said sure," she said. "I guess nobody else asked. So it appeared it was an endorsement of one (religion) when it really wasn’t."

          The county had meant to put up Christmas lights this year but "they sort of fell through the cracks," Pelissero said.

          In its letter to the county sent Tuesday, the ACLU cited case law that found government displays of religious symbols on their own could be perceived as an unconstitutional endorsement of religion. But government displays that included secular holiday symbols, like Christmas trees, alongside religious symbols, did not endorse religion.

          "The goal of the ACLU is not to ruin the celebration of Hanukkah or any other religious holiday, but rather to ensure that the government does not endorse the views of one religion to the exclusion of others," wrote ACLU Legal Director Lois Perrin.

          Hawaii is pretty laid back and liberal compared to the rest of the country. They are a bit more used to religious pluralism: 9% are Buddhist and 18% are non-religious, whereas Christians make up only 68% of the state. There are only about 3,000 Jews on Maui, yet the government wanted to accommodate their request for a menorah. When alerted to the legal difficulties they quickly moved to include everybody. That is the American way: All religions are equal under the law. No religion gets favoritism or preferential treatment.

          The Bill of Rights was ratified on December 15, 1791. The First Amendment states: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; of the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

          I think that this date should be celebrated as a national holiday. What if on December 15^th, in every town that has an illegal government-sponsored display. people were to assemble peaceably on the courthouse lawn with the news media present? The people would speak freely and add secular and a variety of religious artifacts to the display, in order to bring the display into compliance with the Constitution. There would be freedom of religion in the public square. It would not be a war against Chanukkah; it would not be a war against Christmas; it would be a peaceful promotion of the United States Constitution.

          But that America does not exist.

          There is a loud minority of voices that want Christmas to be the only holiday recognized at this time of year. They believe that any recognition of any other religion is blasphemy. To them, freedom of religion means freedom to persecute all other religions. They want the government to recognize only Christianity.

          I imagine they would have a problem with the state of New Jersey.

          The State of New Jersey lists the holidays of various religions that students are allowed to take off from school without penalty: "WHEREAS, according to N.J.S.A. 18A:36-14 through 16 and N.J.A.C. 6A:32-8.3(j):, regarding pupil absence from school because of religious holidays, the Commissioner of Education, with the approval of the State Board of Education, is charged with the responsibility of prescribing such rules and regulations as may be necessary to carry out the purpose of the law."

          They try to be inclusive. For December alone, they list: December 5 (First Day of Chanukkah/Jewish); December 8 (Feast of the Immaculate Conception/Roman Catholic); December 8 (Bodhi Day/Buddhist); December 20 (Eid-al-Adha/Day of Sacrifice, Islamic); December 25 (Christmas/Roman Catholic, Protestant, Eastern/Greek/Russian Orthodox); December 26 (Kwanzaa).

          But such attempts at inclusion are derided by those who insist that the United States of America was founded as or should be a Christian nation. This intolerance is anti-Chanukkah, it is anti Buddhist, it is anti- Islamic. It is the definition of "theocracy" and as such is anti- American.

          The most recent issue (Volume 60. Issue 11, December 2007) of the magazine Church and State contains the following article

by Rob Boston

The Supreme Court, in a series of rulings from the 1980s, has stated that government bodies may include some religious elements in their holiday displays, as long as secular items are included as well. The so-called "Plastic Reindeer Rule" can lead to jarring displays, such as Santa and elves flanking a nativity scene.

Americans United and other separationist groups have merely pointed out that such bizarre decorative results can be avoided if religious decorations are left to houses of worship. The groups have also noted that government cannot display religious symbols standing alone.

The high court has also ruled that public space that is an open forum can be used by private individuals, who may erect religious displays at their own cost. AU and other organizations do not oppose this, but note that all groups must be given access – including non-Christian organizations or groups that oppose religion or whose message is deemed controversial.

Another trick of the Fox gang is to shift the discussion to what retailers are doing in December. Some stores use generic holiday language such as "Happy Holidays" or "Season’s Greetings" because they don’t want to run the risk of offending potential customers. Others mention Christmas.

Most people don’t dwell on the type of greeting they get from a clerk in a big-box store, but to Fox and its Religious Right allies, failure to use the proper religiously correct language is further evidence of hostility toward Christmas. (Ironically, last year the Fox News Channel’s own online store sold a variety of "holiday ornaments" for use on your "holiday tree.")

Americans United points out that retailers, as private entities, are free to use whatever decorations and terminology they like. Retail stores are not arms of government and are not subject to the commands of the First Amendment. In other words, if some shops are using generic holiday language, their owners made that decision, not government officials or church-state separation advocates.

AU’s Lynn said it’s ironic that Religious Right leaders use the "War on Christmas" as just another club in their culture war.

"Christmas is supposed to be a season of peace, goodwill and building bridges of understanding," Lynn said, "yet the Religious Right uses it to inflame passions, divide Americans and increase tension in society."

          I believe that Unitarian Universalists are in a unique position to promote freedom of religion in the public square. We believe in inclusion; we believe in fairness; we believe in the free and responsible search for truth and meaning. Because of that we know that the Christmas tree is really a pagan symbol, even when it is called a "Holiday Tree." The first Chanukkah was the replacement of one state religion with another. It should be recognized as having been a great victory for the majority of people living in Jerusalem at that time. It was the restoration of majority rule.

          But we live in a country that not only has majority rule; we also protect the rights of the minority. So from sundown on December 3 to sundown on December 12, we are free to wish everyone Jewish or not to have a happy Chanukkah. We can amplify the voice of the minority. On December 8 we can wish them a Happy Bodhi Day for good measure. On December 15 we should celebrate Freedom of Religion Day, and say happy everything to everybody. Because we are a small faith organization, we probably need to be louder in our support of religious freedom.

          Each religious or nonreligious institution has to defend its own right to be heard. We need to defend our right to be heard. More important, our faith demands that we defend the right of all religions to be heard. Government neutrality is vital for religious freedom. Government involvement in religion is bad for government and bad for religion.

          We can only be free if we insist that others be free.