According to them, the "religious aspects of Christmas are declining in public life." And what does that mean? Their study says that currently only 57% of Americans believe that the biblical Christmas story actually occurred, down from 65% in 2014. Among Christians, only 76% believe in the biblical story down from 81% three years ago. Only 51% planned to go to church on Christmas or Christmas Eve, down from 54% in 2013. In 2014, 72% thought it was okay to have Christian Christmas displays on government property but that's now down to 66%. Of equal interest, only about a third of Americans are bothered about the shrinking role of religion in Christmas.
I found one aspect of this survey really interesting. Looking at how different groups view the major elements of the Christmas story -- comparing 2014 to today -- among "white evangelicals" (I hate that category because what does "white" have to do with "evangelical", why are "evangelicals" of other races not included, and do we even know what "evangelical" means anymore?) there was little to no change. There was a 1% drop in belief that Jesus was born of a virgin, a 1% drop in the belief that wise men visited, and, in fact, a 3% increase that Jesus was laid in a manger1. Compare that to the "white mainline", the liberal churches of America. They're vacating any sense of a biblical Christmas story in larger numbers. According to an additional 12%, Jesus was not born of a virgin. Three percent more say there was no angelic announcement to shepherds. Eight percent more no longer buy into that whole "wise men" thing. And 81%, down from 87%, have even discarded the manger. These numbers are big -- bigger than any other Christian group.
No war on Christmas? Maybe. Maybe it's just a pathetic death by attrition. The country founded on Christian values and launched by virtue of a belief in a Creator is shoving out its belief in Christian values and its belief in a Creator. This is being driven largely, obviously, by unbelievers (duh!), but fed solidly by "mainline Protestants", self-professed "Christians" who don't believe in Christianity.
Funny thing, though. Christmas remains. Likely will. The fact that they're moving Christ out of everything won't mean that Christmas will stop. The term, mas, refers to the church, but they're happily jettisoning "church" while keeping Christmas. All the symbols -- the gifts and the lights and the trees and "the joy of the season" and the rest -- are predicated on the gift of the Son of God Incarnate, the only means of "Peace on earth", but they're fine with tossing out the gift of the Son and keeping the symbols. Our latter day "more rational world" is tossing out the core of Christmas and the basis for its celebration and clinging to its dead shell. Hey, they still call it a "holiday", originally meaning a "holy day". But, look, no one believes that anymore. "Yes, we want Christ out of Christmas -- even many of us mainline Protestants -- but we still want to keep the empty carcass. We like that." You can have it. "We like the warm feelings of Christmas without the essence." That's really the point, isn't it? "Warm feelings" without Christ. Welcome to a vague "we're likely good enough to get to heaven" kind of salvation, more irrational (and useless) than a biblical Christmas and a saving Christ.
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1 Herein is a window into our problem of defining "Evangelical". The original definition was predicated, in part, on the belief in an authoritative, literal, inerrant view of Scripture, yet self-professed "Evangelicals" are discarding clear Scripture. They might be Christians and they might be "believers" of some sort, but if you are going to toss out the definition of "Evangelicalism" and apply the word to these folk, it's time for a new word ... for actual Evangelicals.
2 comments:
You’ve hit on one of the multiple problems with the term evangelical as it’s used today. One other is that’s it’s used more as a political term than a theological term. I’m up for something new.
You're right, Craig. I think it's an ongoing strategy of Satan. Take words, concepts, ideas, principles, doctrines of God and carefully, slowly move them sideways. "Marriage is the image of the relationship of Christ and the Church." "Oh, no," Satan will say, "that's got to go." "We want to trust God as the One who breathed out His Word and trust that it is complete and sufficient." "Not going to happen on my watch," Satan will say. "I will carefully turn that Word around until they're believing it's 'myth' and 'legend', 'not to be taken as written' and 'it's not a book of rules, you know.' Should be easy. I started this in my conversation with Eve."
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