ALLIANCE DEFENSE
FUND NEWS RELEASE
November 2, 2005
– FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT ADF MEDIA
RELATIONS: (480) 444-0020
Third annual Christmas Project
declares, "Merry Christmas. It's okay to say it."
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz.
- The Alliance Defense Fund
announced today it has more than 800 attorneys available nationwide to
combat any improper attempts to censor the celebration of Christmas in
schools and on public property.
"An overwhelming majority of Americans of all faiths agree that we
should celebrate Christmas," said ADF President Alan Sears. "This is
a time for goodness, giving, and hope--not a time for fear,
intimidation, and the disinformation of agenda-driven, anti-Christmas
legal entities."
According to recent polls,
·
96 percent of Americans celebrate Christmas (Fox
News/Opinion Dynamics, 2003).
·
90 percent of Americans recognize Christmas as the
birthday of Jesus Christ (Gallup, 2000).
·
88 percent of Americans say it is okay for people to
wish others "Merry Christmas" and the majority of Americans are more
likely to wish someone they just met "Merry Christmas" rather than
"Happy Holidays" (CNN/USA Today/Gallup, 2004).
·
87 percent of Americans believe nativity scenes should
be allowed on public property (Fox News/Opinion Dynamics, 2003).
"As in years past, ADF's goal this season is to inform, educate, and
help protect the rights of the 96% of Americans who celebrate
Christmas regarding their rights," Sears explained.
"We want to dispel the myths about religious expression at
Christmastime that have prompted wrongful acts of government
censorship of religious speech," Sears said. "Merry Christmas. It's
okay to say it."
The purpose of ADF's Christmas Project is to clear up misconceptions
about seasonal religious expression on public property:
·
The U.S. Supreme Court has never ruled that public
schools must ban the singing of religious Christmas carols or prohibit
the distribution of candy canes or Christmas cards.
·
School officials may refer to a school break in December
as "Christmas Vacation" or as a holiday without offending the
Constitution.
·
School officials do not violate the Constitution by
closing on religious holidays such as Christmas and Good Friday.
·
No court has ever held that celebrating Thanksgiving and
Christmas as religious holidays requires recognition of all other
religious holidays.
·
The "Three Reindeer Rule" used by the courts requires a
municipality to place a sufficient number of secular objects in close
enough proximity to the Christmas item (such as a crèche) to render
the overall display sufficiently secular. Although the overall
display must not convey a message endorsing a particular religion's
view, Christmas displays are not banned as some people believe.
Simply put, the courts ask, "Is the municipality celebrating the
holiday or promoting religion?"
Participating with ADF in this year's Christmas Project are Coral
Ridge Ministries, Focus on the Family, Christmas Tree Farmers
Association of New York, and the majority of America's state family
policy councils.
ADF will represent people of faith, as well as school districts or
other entities, free of charge--as it has in numerous instances in
recent years--to defend their freedom of speech regarding Christmas,
even after Christmas is over.
ADF has prepared a free informational pamphlet titled "The Truth about
Religious Expression at Christmastime." An informational legal
memorandum that can be sent to school officials regarding the law and
Christmas expression is also available. Visit
www.saychristmas.org or call
1-877-TELL-ADF.
ADF is a legal alliance
defending America's first liberty--religious
freedom--through
strategy, training, funding, and litigation.
www.telladf.org
www.saychristmas.org
Additional Resources:
·
Fox News/Opinion Dynamics poll:
www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,105272,00.html
·
Gallup polls:
poll.gallup.com/content/default.aspx?ci=14410&pg=2
·
ADF Christmas pamphlet, legal memo, and other resources:
www.saychristmas.org/resources
·
ADF Christmas Media Kit (for media outlets only):
www.saychristmas.org/docs/mediakit.pdf
