The most collectively celebrated holiday of the year is undeniably December 25th, Christmas. Most people acknowledge that the “Christ” in Christmas is representative of Jesus Christ, Son of God, and for Christians, the day is set aside as a celebration of his birth. Many people in the United States (and world) however, either do not believe in the Christian view of Christmas, have different non-Christian religious beliefs or celebrate for other reasons, if at all. Because of the multi-cultural differences that incorporate our country, Christmas should be declared by Congress as simply a Federal Holiday. This would be achieved if the dominant “Christ” aspect from “Christ”-mas was removed by renaming the holiday to The Winter Holiday, which is more inclusive to all cultures.
The United States is comprised of a very diverse group of people with different beliefs and celebrations in winter including Hanukkah celebrated by Jews, Ramadan celebrated by Islam’s, Kwanzaa celebrating African culture, Bodhi Day celebrated by Buddhists, Diwali celebrated by Hindu’s, and Christmas celebrated by Christians. Also, there are the secular celebrations of Christmas, those traditions not specifically or overtly religious, celebrated by atheists, many other non-religious people as well as incorporated into most Christian celebrations. According to the Pew Forum, 4.7% of the population is a religion other than Christian and 16.1% claim “unaffiliated” (U.S. Religious Landscape). Between the 1990’s and 2008, the number of Christians dropped from 86.2% to 76% and the number of non-theists almost doubled in the same time frame (American Religious Identification). In most ways, Christmas is no longer a “religious” holiday and should reflect all ...
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...ous beliefs: peace on earth, goodwill toward all.
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Moore investigates the attitudes, behavior, and perception of Americans regarding their respective individual sacred and secular lives. He is interested in the roles of popular culture and religion and in addition, how popular culture affected the shift in boundaries between sacredness and secularism, particularly how these practices shape American religion. We live in a complex society and social structure that is structured with norms and values that they themselves structure the way we interpret and interact with others.
“Jeffersons Influence on the United States -Program No. 35.” VOA Learning English. n.p. n.d. Web. 25 March 2014.
Wilentz, Sean. "Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Thomas Jefferson." The New Republic Mar 10 1997: 32-42. ProQuest. Web. 17 Jan. 2014 .
Thomas Jefferson, an educated, well respected career man, served as governor of Virginia, secretary of state, and president of the United States. The Revolutionary era, during the 1770's, proved to be one of America's most victorious times. Despite the casualties the American colonies suffered, they proved to be stronger than their ruling land, Britain, and won the right to be a free land, becoming the United States of America. Living through this difficult turning point in history inspired Jefferson to write "The Declaration of Independence." Once again, nearly two hundred years later, America faced yet another turning point in history. Watching America struggle through racial integration in the 1960's, King was outraged by how Blacks were being treated, not only by citizens, but by law enforcement. Police brutality became increasingly prevalent, especially in the South, during riots and protests. As a revered clergyman, civil rights leader, and Nobel Prize winner, King's writings sprung from a passion to help America become the land Jefferson, among many people, had promised it to be. ...
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Christmas is a holiday celebrated by most of the world. Christianity is very popular in the US and Hispanic cultures. In the US, Christmas is celebrated with going to Church on Christmas Eve, spending time with their families, and many other things. People also reenact the nativity scene, sing Christmas carols, and do
However, the author 's interpretations of Jefferson 's decisions and their connection to modern politics are intriguing, to say the least. In 1774, Jefferson penned A Summary View of the Rights of British America and, later, in 1775, drafted the Declaration of the Causes and Necessity of Taking Up Arms (Ellis 32-44). According to Ellis, the documents act as proof that Jefferson was insensitive to the constitutional complexities a Revolution held as his interpretation of otherwise important matters revolved around his “pattern of juvenile romanticism” (38). Evidently, the American colonies’ desire for independence from the mother country was a momentous decision that affected all thirteen colonies. However, in Ellis’ arguments, Thomas Jefferson’s writing at the time showed either his failure to acknowledge the severity of the situation or his disregard of the same. Accordingly, as written in the American Sphinx, Jefferson’s mannerisms in the first Continental Congress and Virginia evokes the picture of an adolescent instead of the thirty-year-old man he was at the time (Ellis 38). It is no wonder Ellis observes Thomas Jefferson as a founding father who was not only “wildly idealistic” but also possessed “extraordinary naivete” while advocating the notions of a Jeffersonian utopia that unrestrained
For clarity, we must define what the term "Christian country" really means and it is therefore worthwhile to examine the religious make-up of America. At this point, and for the foreseeable future, Christianity is the self-admitted majority religion of this Country. In 1990, sociologists at the Graduate School of the City University of New York completed and released the National Survey of Religious Identification. All results are from self-identified religious beliefs; the...
In his brief response, President Jefferson sympathized with the Baptists in their opposition to the state of Connecticut’s established religion. The question of this assignment is “What do you think the signers of the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution thought about the separation of church and state or about the separation of God from government?” While devoutly committed to religious liberty He deeply opposed established churches as existed in Massachusetts and Connecticut, but recognized that, as President, he had to respect them. The letter contains the phrase "wall of separation between church and state," that expressed his reverence for the First Amendment’s “wall of separation between Church & State” at the federal level. This became the short-hand for the Establishment Clause that we use today: "Separation of church and state." President Jefferson put much thought and intense scrutiny into the letter, and consulted New England politicians to assure that his words would not offend while still conveying his message that it was not the place of the Congress or of the Executive to do anything that might be misconstrued an establishment of religion. The now well-known the phrase "wall of separation between church and state,” lay
Ah Christmas, it is said to be the most wonderful time of the year. In the United States Christmas is a time of giving and receiving, spending time with your family, and in most Christian families, celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ. Christmas is hands-down the most highly commercialized holiday celebrated by Americans. In fact, according to CBS news, the average American will spend $700 on gifts this holiday season, totaling for a whopping $465 billion spent nation-wide. From mall Santas as far as the eye can see, to hearing Christmas music in every retail store you enter. Christmas is a time of high spirits and high spending in the U.S.
- Jeffrey Passel and D’Vera Cohn. “The Global Religious Landscape, 2012.” Pew Research Center, Washington, D.C. (December 18, 2012). http://www.pewforum.org/2012/12/18/global-religious-landscape-exec/, accessed on Monday 21, 2014.
ChristmasThe year's most celebrated holiday is celebrated on December 25th, both in homes and churches worldwide. The meaning for Christmas is to recognize Christ's birth, of which the exact date is not known. During the fourth century the Bishop of Rome set December 25th as Christ's birth date. Some authorities claim that the choice of December 25th was made because it coincided with Chanukah, Mithraic's feast of the sun god, and the people of northern Europe's winter solstice feast. The winter solstice is the time of year in the Northern Hemisphere when the noon sun appears to be farthest south. (All About American Holidays, 1962 Encyclopedia Encarta, 1998)The Saturnalia was celebrated for seven days, during the period of time when the winter solstice occurred.
Although it was never celebrated in biblical times, Christmas is celebrated in local churches here in Visalia, California in praise of the fact that God loved us so much; he sent his one and only son to earth. He was wholey god and wholey man. Whereas we have succumbed to the temptations of this earth, Jesus was able to overcome all temptations and live a sinless life. He was then crucified as the perfect sacrifice for our sins. One cannot understand why we celebrate the birth of Christ without seeing the other end of his life. He was crucified for our sins and resurrected.