Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and the Joy of Being Able to Celebrate Our Freedom of Religion

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and the Joy of Being Able to Celebrate Our Freedom of Religion – First and foremost, I want to wish anyone who is reading this a very merry Christmas, and for my Jewish friends, a wonderful Hanukkah celebration.  It’s always special when the dates of these two holidays coincide as they do this year.  It makes my Christian family get-togethers with our close Russian friends who are practicing Jews all the more meaningful.  In fact, one of the things we celebrate with them is their ability to openly proclaim their religious heritage and belief.  It is something that they frequently talk about since they couldn't do that without fear of reprisal in Soviet Russia.  Discussing the current trends in Russia, they often express their fears of a return to a time of repression in their native country.

According to the Pew Research Foundation, more than a third of all countries in the world “severely restrict” religious practice.  The U.S. State Department reports that religious persecution is at an all time high, and “all around the world, individuals are subjected to discrimination, violence and abuse, perpetrated and sanctioned violence for simply exercising their faith, identifying with a certain religion, or choosing not to believe in a higher deity at all.”  We are watching entire religious communities in North Africa and the Middle East being all but eradicated.  And across the globe, religious minorities are under attack in every way possible – legally, socially, and mortally.  In sum, religious freedom is becoming increasingly precious.

I've lived and worked in some of these countries and can attest first hand to the chilling effect that religious repression has on individual expression, freedom of conscience, and freedom of choice.  It is no way to live.

It seems appropriate then to reflect on what we have in America –the ability to practice any religion we choose (or none at all), openly and without governmental prejudice.  I have little sympathy for the freedom from religion advocates that are so adamant about ensuring we limit outward displays of the religious nature of our holidays in public places.  I fear that in our zeal to be “inclusive,” with all of our deliberately neutral “happy holiday” greetings and carols, we forget just how special it is that we CAN say “Merry Christmas,” or “Happy Hanukkah,” or any other acknowledgement of the religious origins of a particular holiday or event.   So Merry Christmas everyone.  It’s what I’m celebrating and I’m happy to be able to proclaim it.  After all, why would we want to constrain ourselves when our very freedom to profess our chosen belief is so remarkable?