Every year, Christmas comes along and in decades past, it was celebrated as a joyous time of the year in celebrating the birth of Christ and have fun with your family. But this year, it seems that it's becoming less and less in the minds of citizens in the US; especially the religious aspect.
Pew Research on Monday, December 18, released a survey of five facts about Christmas today in the US and while Christians hold Christmas in high esteem, the role of religion in Christmas celebrations appears to be sadly declining.
How many people believe Christmas is a religious holiday?
The research study found that only 46 percent of Americans feel that Christmas is principally a religious holiday, which is down from 51 percent who agreed with this in 2013. Surprisingly enough, millennials have become less likely to even think of Christmas as even being remotely a religious holiday.
Pew Research stated that a majority of U.S. adults, (56 percent of them), say religious aspects of Christmas is viewed less than anything or is just another day. Relatively few are even bothered by this trend, which makes one wonder what Christmas will be like in 10, 20, 50 years?
'Merry Christmas' or 'happy holidays?'
The second study is one that we have been hearing for several years now, on whether or not one should say “Merry Christmas” or “Happy Holidays.”
That result shows that when Americans go to the store, or out anywhere for that matter, a meager 52 percent stated that it didn’t matter to them.
According to Pew, this was up six points, or 46 percent in 2012, where only 32 percent now choose to say, “Merry Christmas” and as predicted, Republicans are much more likely than Democrats to say “Merry Christmas” than “Happy Holidays”.
The third survey result presents an interesting take on whether or not holiday displays are okay on government property.
The survey result showed a declining acceptance of such displays.
The Pew Research survey had asked participants on whether or not that they approve of Christian symbols like nativity scenes, or if anything in relation to Christianity should be allowed on government property. The survey further asked that if it was okay, would they be bothered or not if the display was accompanied by symbols from other faiths?
Sadly, the results show that there is a decline, where only 37 percent of U.S. adults now say that Christian symbols should be allowed on government property, even if those displays were unaccompanied by symbols or displays from other religions. This is down 44 percent from the same survey in 2014.
When it came to the fourth survey question, the question asked about whether such displays violate the so-called “Separation of Church and State” clause.
The US Supreme Court back in the 1980s. presented a case, Lynch v. Donnelly, which delved into whether or not the “inclusion” of a nativity scene in that city's display violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment in the US Constitution.
That court decision revealed: "5-to-4 decision that the city had not violated the Establishment Clause and also held that the symbols posed no danger of establishing a state church and that it was "far too late in the day to impose a crabbed reading of the [Establishment] Clause on the country.”
Is the story of baby Jesus believed to be a fabrication?
The last of the survey questions results centered on whether or not elements of the Christmas story. The biblical historical events of when baby Jesus was born - was it real or fabricated.
Those results revealed that although most Americans, 66 percent, still say that Jesus was born to a virgin, the Virgin Mary, that percentage is down from 73 percent of Americans who stated it was a fact in 2014.
As part of the Christmas season, holiday songs may not sound like your typical Christmas carols, but they continue to be played annually, and then you have some songs that are played, although some do not like them.
These results are very revealing of how Americans view Christmas in 2017. After reading all of the results, how do you feel about them?
