Baptist News Global
Sections
  • News
  • Analysis
  • Opinion
  • Curated
  • Storytelling
    • Faith & Justice >
      • Charleston: Metanoia with Bill Stanfield
      • Charlotte: QC Family Tree with Greg and Helms Jarrell
      • Little Rock: Judge Wendell Griffen
      • North Carolina: Conetoe
    • Welcoming the Stranger >
      • Lost Boys of Sudan: St. John’s Baptist Charlotte
      • Awakening to Immigrant Justice: Myers Park Baptist Church
      • Hospitality on the corner: Gaston Christian Center
    • Signature Ministries >
      • Jake Hall: Gospel Gothic, Music and Radio
    • Singing Our Faith >
      • Hymns for a Lifetime: Ken Wilson and Knollwood Baptist Church
      • Norfolk Street Choir
    • Resilient Rural America >
      • Alabama: Perry County
      • Texas: Hidalgo County
      • Arkansas Delta
      • Southeast Kentucky
  • More
    • Contact
    • About
    • Donate
    • Planned Giving
    • Letters to the Editor
    • Advertising
    • Ministry Jobs and More
    • Transitions
    • Subscribe
    • Submissions and Permissions
Support independent, faith-based journalism. Donate
Search Search this site
Featured
Featured

Hoping for cessation of ‘war on Christmas’ rhetoric? Don’t, historians say

NewsJeff Brumley  |  December 13, 2016

Another season of the so-called “war on Christmas,” especially in the wake of Donald Trump’s election, may be just enough to drive some people over the edge.

And all indications are it isn’t going to go away.

Thomas Kidd

Thomas Kidd

“There is no easier way for politicians or pundits to rally the base this time of year than hyping the ‘War on Christmas’ by liberal elites,” Baylor University history professor Thomas Kidd said in a book review of Gerry Bowler’s Christmas in the Crosshairs: Two Thousand Years of Denouncing and Defending the World’s Most Celebrated Holiday.

“Donald Trump’s son Eric told evangelist James Robison in an August interview that one reason Trump decided to run for president was because the White House ‘Christmas tree’ was now called the “holiday tree,’” Kidd writes, adding that multiple sources say the change never occurred.

In his Christianity Today piece, Kidd presents Bowler’s account of the love-hate affair some Christians have had toward Christianity through the centuries.

Religion scholars are not surprised conservative evangelicals herald the holiday today, when their Puritan ancestors banned it for being too Catholic and pagan. And they have taken just about every position in-between.

But what is consistent is the battle, said Andrew Gardner, a doctoral student in American religious history and author of the 2015 book Reimaging Zion: A History of the Alliance of Baptists.

“There is nothing new under the sun,” Gardner told Baptist News Global. “That reminds me that we’re constantly undergoing a negotiation as to what Christmas means.”

The constant back-and-forth, Gardner said, is about the symbols inherent in Christmas.

“Anytime you’re dealing with symbols you’re constantly negotiating over what they mean.”

For some, Christmas symbolizes the incarnation. For others, it’s about decorated trees and time for family. For some, it’s time off from work and gift-giving. While others see it as a sign of their faith’s place in the culture.

Other issues that have shared that kind of back-and-forth are Ten Commandments and prayer in school debates, Gardner said.

“Another example is communion and what communion means, and Baptists in particular do that a lot,” he said.

From Puritans to Westboro Baptist

puritanchristmasbanThe Christmas tug-of-war began early, Kidd writes in his review of Bowler’s book, which was published in October by Oxford University Press

Some early Protestants saw the holiday negatively because it was tied to the Catholic Church. They believed it to be Rome’s attempt to Christianize a pagan festival.

“In the 1640s, the Puritan-dominated English Parliament banned Christmas. …’” Kidd writes.

The holiday’s prospects improved around the early 19th century with the works of Charles Dickens and others. The 1822 publication of a story known as “’Twas the Night Before Christmas” is also considered a pivotal moment, Kidd writes.

“The gift-giving Santa also transformed Christmas into the merchants’ holiday par excellence,” he added.

The book also provides modern examples of the tug-of-war over Christmas. These include Westboro Baptist’s replacement of “Santa Claus is comin’ to Town” with “Santa Claus Will Take You to Hell.” Planned Parenthood, Bowler reported, offered a version of the “Twelve Days of Christmas” in which a lover offers family-planning gifts to his beloved.

And there are ACLU and other secularists’ efforts to remove Christmas symbols from the public square.

Bowler is opposed to both of the spectrum in the ongoing culture battle, according to Kidd.

Part of the problem, Gardner added, is that Christmas has become a secular, national holiday. That makes the debate over its meaning particularly complex.

“Any time you have something this fluid and this malleable, you’re always going to go through this negotiating,” Gardner said.

And for that reason, there is little hope the rhetoric is going to stop.

“In 10 to 15 years it may not be about Christmas, but it will be about other things,” he said.

Tags:Baylor UniversityAlliance of BaptistsDonald TrumpBaptist News GlobalCatholic ChurchPaganismWar on ChristmasPlanned ParenthoodWestboro Baptist ChurchTen CommandmentsCommunionChristianityPuritansACLUprayer in schoolGerry BowlerThomas KiddEric TrumpJames RobinsonZionFlorida State UniversityCharles Dickens
Jeff Brumley
More by
Jeff Brumley
Read Next:

Inspiration from voices of American diversity

OpinionPhawnda Moore

More Articles

  • All
  • News
  • Opinion
  • Curated
  • It’s still rare for a Baptist minister to serve in Congress

    AnalysisMark Wingfield

  • Denver is sweeping away homeless encampments; two churches help open their own

    NewsLiam Adams

  • It’s hard to quit Herod, but we must worship another

    OpinionJohn Inscore Essick

  • Fellowship Southwest becomes independent, ecumenical ministry

    NewsJeff Brumley

  • Truth Decay: When truth stumbles in the public square

    OpinionDavid Gushee, Senior Columnist

  • Unification will happen only after repentance

    OpinionEarl Chappell

  • Inspiration from voices of American diversity

    OpinionPhawnda Moore

  • The Broken Heart of America paints a picture of how racism erodes a city over time and how to overcome it

    AnalysisTom Clifton

  • Some hard questions for reflection on this MLK Day

    OpinionSid Smith III

  • Let’s move beyond the easy answers and MLK quotes today

    OpinionCraig Nash

  • The blasphemy of Franklin Graham

    OpinionRobert P. Sellers

  • In New York City, serving the homeless offered a clue for how to serve trauma victims during the pandemic

    NewsJeff Brumley

  • At Central Seminary, Durso inauguration moves to virtual platform

    NewsBNG staff

  • 10 prayers for 2021 (if we survive January)

    OpinionErich Bridges

  • Why ‘moderate’ churches fear telling it like it is

    OpinionEric Minton

  • Kentucky seminary receives Baugh Foundation grant to start Institute for Black Church Studies

    NewsPat Cole

  • American Protestants less open to sermons on race in 2020, survey finds

    NewsJeff Brumley

  • 3 current trends youth leaders need to know

    NewsMark Wingfield

  • 4 things you can do to counter the millions of Americans who are fully radicalized

    OpinionCorey Fields

  • Christian symbols and sedition at the Capitol: The church has work to do

    OpinionRhonda Abbott Blevins

  • ‘Postcards from Babylon’ documentary tells a better story

    AnalysisRick Pidcock

  • Give yourself some grace during the pandemic

    OpinionBrett Younger

  • What should pastors do if their members helped incite the Capitol riots?

    AnalysisAndrew Gardner

  • Seminarian, CBF and Georgia church find fellowship together

    NewsJeff Brumley

  • Understanding the trauma and finding hope after the siege of the nation’s Capitol

    OpinionKathy Manis Findley

  • Denver is sweeping away homeless encampments; two churches help open their own

    NewsLiam Adams

  • Fellowship Southwest becomes independent, ecumenical ministry

    NewsJeff Brumley

  • In New York City, serving the homeless offered a clue for how to serve trauma victims during the pandemic

    NewsJeff Brumley

  • At Central Seminary, Durso inauguration moves to virtual platform

    NewsBNG staff

  • Kentucky seminary receives Baugh Foundation grant to start Institute for Black Church Studies

    NewsPat Cole

  • American Protestants less open to sermons on race in 2020, survey finds

    NewsJeff Brumley

  • 3 current trends youth leaders need to know

    NewsMark Wingfield

  • Seminarian, CBF and Georgia church find fellowship together

    NewsJeff Brumley

  • New effort to repeal federal death penalty is beginning

    NewsMark Wingfield

  • Barna advice to pastors: Talk honestly about emotions and relationships

    NewsJeff Brumley

  • Trump administration pushes evangelical agenda through last-minute actions

    NewsMark Wingfield

  • Trump’s parting gift echos his immigration policies toward Africa

    NewsAnthony Akaeze

  • Ministry jobs and more

    NewsBarbara Francis

  • SBC seminary presidents meet with Black pastors but don’t change position on Critical Race Theory

    NewsMark Wingfield

  • Q&A with Michael McMahon of the Hymn Society of North America

    NewsJeff Brumley

  • Western Recorder, second oldest Baptist paper in America, to cease publication

    NewsMark Wingfield

  • Letter to the Editor: No need to ‘call me back’ to my faith after supporting Trump

    NewsBNG staff

  • Clergy advocate to repeal death penalty in Virginia

    NewsJeff Brumley

  • Denominational leaders denounce Capitol violence while evangelicals offer mixed responses

    NewsMark Wingfield

  • D.C. church hangs huge Black Lives Matter banners in view of Trump rally

    NewsJeff Brumley

  • Pastors respond to unbelievable events at Capitol on Epiphany 2021

    NewsMark Wingfield

  • Transitions for the week of 1-8-21

    NewsBarbara Francis

  • Donors keep Judson College open for spring semester

    NewsJeff Brumley

  • 25 years ago this week, five Baptist churches were booted for affirming gay members

    NewsJeff Brumley

  • Ministry jobs and more

    NewsBarbara Francis

  • It’s hard to quit Herod, but we must worship another

    OpinionJohn Inscore Essick

  • Truth Decay: When truth stumbles in the public square

    OpinionDavid Gushee, Senior Columnist

  • Unification will happen only after repentance

    OpinionEarl Chappell

  • Inspiration from voices of American diversity

    OpinionPhawnda Moore

  • Some hard questions for reflection on this MLK Day

    OpinionSid Smith III

  • Let’s move beyond the easy answers and MLK quotes today

    OpinionCraig Nash

  • The blasphemy of Franklin Graham

    OpinionRobert P. Sellers

  • 10 prayers for 2021 (if we survive January)

    OpinionErich Bridges

  • Why ‘moderate’ churches fear telling it like it is

    OpinionEric Minton

  • 4 things you can do to counter the millions of Americans who are fully radicalized

    OpinionCorey Fields

  • Christian symbols and sedition at the Capitol: The church has work to do

    OpinionRhonda Abbott Blevins

  • Give yourself some grace during the pandemic

    OpinionBrett Younger

  • Understanding the trauma and finding hope after the siege of the nation’s Capitol

    OpinionKathy Manis Findley

  • Why I long for the church of my youth

    OpinionRichard T. Hughes

  • ‘He being dead, yet speaketh’

    OpinionHarold Ivan Smith

  • Toxic masculinity, 24-hour news and complacency fed the Jan. 6 riots

    OpinionJohn Jay Alvaro

  • A lesson from 19th century North Carolina: Lost cause, lost opportunity

    OpinionGreg Jarrell

  • Dear white Christians, are you done praying yet?

    OpinionNatasha Nedrick

  • I’ve been accused of sowing hate

    OpinionKim Brewer

  • It’s past time to admit the hard truths behind the Capitol riots

    OpinionWendell Griffen

  • Truth Decay: Truth is interpersonal and covenantal

    OpinionDavid Gushee, Senior Columnist

  • Why resisting gaslighting in the wake of sedition is self-care

    OpinionJonathan Davis

  • Four tools the church has to recover those who followed Trump’s siren song

    OpinionMichael Chancellor

  • Let’s make America great again

    OpinionTerry Austin

  • How to become the hope of 2021

    OpinionAmber Cantorna

  • Annual March for Life goes virtual amid COVID-19, unrest at US Capitol

    Curated

    Exclude from home pageBNG staff

  • The Capitol siege recalls past acts of Christian nationalist violence

    Curated

    Exclude from home pageBNG staff

  • Moms of Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X and James Baldwin portrayed in new book

    Curated

    Exclude from home pageBNG staff

  • ‘Christian nationalists’ accused of violating law in Georgia elections

    Curated

    Exclude from home pageBNG staff

  • Joanne Rogers, widow of ‘Mr. Rogers,’ dead at age 92

    Curated

    Exclude from home pageBNG staff

  • Israel hopes to vaccinate Holocaust survivors to save and repay ‘treasured’ population

    Curated

    Exclude from home pageBNG staff

  • Conspiracy theories and the ‘American Madness’ that gripped the Capitol

    Curated

    Exclude from home pageBNG staff

  • Anti-Semitism seen in Capitol insurrection raises alarms

    Curated

    Exclude from home pageBNG staff

  • Most Evangelical Trump Voters Didn’t Turn on Mike Pence

    Curated

    Exclude from home pageBNG staff

  • What four strangers of different faiths learned while living together during a pandemic

    Curated

    Exclude from home pageBNG staff

  • In waning days of Trump presidency, Department of Health and Human Services undercuts religious liberty protections in new final rule

    Curated

    Exclude from home pageBNG staff

  • How House chaplain calmed tense hours in besieged Capitol with prayers for ‘God’s covering’

    Curated

    Exclude from home pageBNG staff

  • Supreme Court wrestles with Georgia college free speech case

    Curated

    Exclude from home pageBNG staff

  • How self-proclaimed ‘prophets’ from a growing Christian movement provided religious motivation for the Jan. 6 events at the US Capitol

    Curated

    Exclude from home pageBNG staff

  • For insurrectionists, a violent faith brewed from nationalism, conspiracies and Jesus

    Curated

    Exclude from home pageBNG staff

  • Warnock condemns Capitol rioters in post-election sermon

    Curated

    Exclude from home pageBNG staff

  • A scholar of American anti-Semitism explains the hate symbols present during the US Capitol riot

    Curated

    Exclude from home pageBNG staff

  • SBC leader Russell Moore to Trump: Time to leave. ‘People are dead’

    Curated

    Exclude from home pageBNG staff

  • Catholic leaders, progressive and conservative, condemn the violence at the Capitol

    Curated

    Exclude from home pageBNG staff

  • Pro-Trump prayer meeting filled with calls for a ‘miracle’

    Curated

    Exclude from home pageBNG staff

  • With his victory, Raphael Warnock becomes a member of a select club – pastor politician

    Curated

    Exclude from home pageBNG staff

  • Faith groups among those calling for Trump’s impeachment after US Capitol occupation

    Curated

    Exclude from home pageBNG staff

  • Warnock, Biden wins give twin thrills to religious liberals

    Curated

    Exclude from home pageBNG staff

  • As chaos hits Capitol, two forms of faith on display

    Curated

    Exclude from home pageBNG staff

  • Warnock, pastor and politician, has role models who did both

    Curated

    Exclude from home pageBNG staff

Conversations that Matter.

© 2021 Baptist News Global. All rights reserved.

Want to share a story? We hope you will! Read our republishing, terms of use and privacy policies here.

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • RSS