Respect for religious pluralism is demonstrated by acknowledging rather than ignoring all

CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS AT THE WHITE HOUSE INCLUDE A Crèche IN THE EAST ROOM (DESPITE REPORTS THAT WHITE HOUSE SOCIAL SECRETARY Desiree ROGERS SUGGESTED THAT THE OBAMAS WERE PLANNING A "NON-RELIGIOUS CHRISTMAS.") SHOULD THE WHITE HOUSE, WHO’S RESIDENTS SERVE ALL AMERICANS, DISPLAY a Crèche OR a MENORAH OR ANY STRICTLY RELIGIOUS SYMBOLS DURING THE HOLIDAYS?


Like it or not, Christmas is actually a religious holiday. I know it is easy to forget that amid the hustle and bustle of chasing hot deals on gifts, trips to the mall to see Santa and 25 days of made-for-TV holiday specials running on multiple cable channels. But the very word “Christmas” is in itself an acknowledgement that this is a day to celebrate Christ – a strictly religious persona. So despite hints from Desiree Rogers to the contrary, I would argue there was never anyway in which the Obama’s’ could have held a “non-religious Christmas”.

Also it so happens that the Obama’s are actually Christians and therefore it is perfectly natural for them to celebrate Christmas as well as all of the other Christian holidays. While it is true that President Obama is the President for all Americans, most of us knew that he was a Christian when we voted for him and I’m assuming that we expected he would participate in the typical Christian traditions. Similarly I expect that he will do many of the things that men, fathers, and people of color traditionally do, despite the fact that he serves a country that is not made up exclusively of men, fathers or people of color.

What I have been pleasantly surprised by however is that he is so comfortable and confident in his faith that he can be proactive in welcoming others of different faith traditions. Displaying a “strictly religious” symbol of his faith helps remind other Christians what Christmas is really all about, i.e. the birth of the Christ child as a tangible manifestation of God’s love for all of humanity and the possibility for the power of love to transform the world.. As a Christian I like to think our country’s leader pauses to think of such things when he sees the Crèche on display in the East room as he’s on his way to meetings to develop strategies for “winning” the war in Afghanistan, revamping the healthcare system in the U.S., reviving the global economy and slowing climate change.

But importantly it’s not just symbols of Christianity that he might stop to glance at on his way to these policy-setting discussions. Realizing that America is a religiously pluralistic country, he’ll hopefully also pass “strictly religious” symbols of Judaism, Islam, etc. And hopefully these will also give him pause and enrich his decision-making with the ideals that those religions treasure as central to their faiths. America is a country of many faiths, and he is the President for all of America.