Christian Leaders Call for a ‘Ceasefire in the Christmas Culture Wars’

Open Letter Urges Bill O’Reilly, Bill Donohue and John Gibson to Join a Campaign that focuses on the Common Good

Washington, DC – Catholic social justice leaders, religious sisters and evangelical Christians have called for a “ceasefire in the Christmas culture wars” and challenged Bill O’Reilly and others who have lashed out against a so-called secular “War on Christmas” to join them in a campaign that restores a focus on the common good during this holy season.

In an “Open Letter to Christmas Culture Warriors” published as an advertisement in the New York Post, Washington Times and the National Catholic Reporter, the group says that outrage over some department stores using “Happy Holidays” instead of “Merry Christmas” is a distraction from the profound moral challenges we face in confronting the threats to human dignity in our world.

“We believe the real assault on Christmas is how a season of peace, forgiveness and goodwill has been sidelined by a focus on excessive consumerism,” the letter states. “The powerful message Christ brings to the world is ‘good news for the poor.’ Instead, Christmas is being reduced to a corporate-sponsored holiday that idolizes commerce and materialism.”

The letter will be published in the Dec. 4 issue of the Washington Times and New York Post and in the Dec. 14 issue of the National Catholic Reporter.
Fox News commentator John Gibson's 2005 book, The War on Christmas: How the Liberal Plot to Ban the Sacred Christian Holiday is Worse Than You Thought, denounced what he and other pundits describe as a secular agenda intent on destroying Christmas and driving religion from the public square. William Donohue, executive director of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights, has warned of "cultural fascists" taking over Christmas. Bill O'Reilly has made the "War on Christmas" a prominent seasonal feature of his popular Fox broadcast.
“Christmas marks a season of hope, peace and the light of justice illuminating the dark corners of our world,” said Alexia Kelley, Executive Director of Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good. “At a time of a real war in Iraq, and 37 million of our American neighbors living in poverty, we should be focusing on promoting peace and human dignity in our world.”

“When we consider the true meaning of Christmas, its sacredness is not validated by prescribed greetings or slogans in department stores," said Rev. Derrick Harkins, Senior Pastor of the Nineteenth Street Baptist Church in Washington, DC and a board member of the evangelical humanitarian relief agency World Relief. "If we are truly serious about the importance of Christmas, we will remember that its message of love and hope was shared with disenfranchised shepherds first, which should prompt us to be far more concerned with how the season is shared in word and deed with the poor and hurting among us."

The complete text of the letter and signatories follow after this release.
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AN OPEN LETTER TO CHRISTMAS “CULTURE WARRIORS”

For the past several years some media pundits and “culture warriors” have launched an aggressive campaign against a so-called “War on Christmas.”

Targeting department stores, local governments and school systems for replacing Merry Christmas with “Happy Holidays” or “Seasons Greetings,” Bill O’Reilly and John Gibson of Fox News have led the charge against what they call a “secular progressive agenda” determined to drive religion out of the public square. William Donohue of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights ominously warns of “cultural fascists” taking over Christmas.

It’s time for a ceasefire in the Christmas culture wars.

As Americans of faith, we also see a dangerous assault on the true meaning of this sacred day. But our outrage has little to do with a few examples of people saying “Happy Holidays” instead of “Merry Christmas.” We believe the real assault on Christmas is how a season of peace, forgiveness and goodwill has been sidelined by a focus on excessive consumerism.

The powerful message Christ brings to the world is “good news for the poor.” Instead, Christmas is being reduced to a corporate-sponsored holiday that idolizes commerce and materialism. Shopping and gift giving are meaningful traditions that can express the season’s values, but perspective is lost when relentless advertising and maxed-out credit cards define the holiday. It’s time to reclaim the virtue of shared sacrifice for the common good.

To focus on how department stores greet customers at a time when American soldiers are dying in Iraq and 37 million of our neighbors live in poverty is a distraction from the profound moral challenges we face in confronting the real threats to human dignity in our world.

We invite Messrs. O’Reilly, Gibson and Donohue to join us in a new campaign of civility and conscience that restores our focus on the common good during this holy season. Together we can change the culture – not with strident attacks or shouting matches on television -- but with an unwavering commitment to justice and peace for all of God’s children.

Please join our campaign at www.ChristmasCampaign.org

Sr. Yvette Arnold, RGS
Leadership Teams, Sisters of the Good Shepherd, Province of New York

Rev. Dr. Randall Balmer
Professor of American Religious History
Barnard College, Columbia University

Sr. Barbara Beasley, RGS
Leadership Teams
Sisters of the Good Shepherd, Province of Mid-North America

Rev. Jennifer Butler
Executive Director
Faith in Public Life

Sr. Simone Campbell
Executive Director
Network, A National Catholic Social Justice Lobby

Sr. Patricia Daly, OP
Executive Director
Tri-State Coalition for Responsible Investment

Rev. Derrick Harkins
Senior Pastor, Nineteenth Street Baptist Church
World Relief Board Member

Fr. Jim Hug, S.J.
Executive Director
Center of Concern

Alexia Kelley
Executive Director
Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good

Chris Korzen
Executive Director
Catholics United

Sr. Marie Lucey, OSF
Assistant Director for Social Mission
Leadership Conference of Women Religious

Rev. Brian McLaren
Founder
Cedar Ridge Community Church, Spencerville, MD

Thomas P. Melady
Former U.S. Ambassador to Burundi, Uganda, and the Vatican
President Emeritus, Sacred Heart University

Vincent J. Miller
Theology Department, Georgetown University
Author of Consuming Religion

Sr. Carol Pregno, OLC
North American Union Sisters of Our Lady of Charity

David Robinson
Executive Director
Pax Christi USA

Glen H. Stassen
Lewis B. Smedes Professor of Christian Ethics
Fuller Theological Seminary
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