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 The group American Atheists has placed this billboard in New York City's Times Square.
December 21st, 2013
10:22 AM ET
Why atheists should quit the 'War on Christmas’Opinion by Chris Stedman, special to CNN
In recent years, one organization, American Atheists, has claimed the mantle of prime atheist promoter of the tired “War on Christmas” narrative. This year, they ushered in the season with an electronic billboard in New York City’s Times Square carrying the message: “Who needs Christ during Christmas? Nobody.” The word "Christ" is crossed out, just in case their message wasn't clear enough. The American Atheists maintain that their latest entry in the annual “War on Christmas” saga is a message to other atheists that they are not alone. In a recent Fox News appearance, American Atheists President Dave Silverman said, “The point that we’re trying to make is that there’s a whole bunch of people out there for whom religion is the worst part of Christmas, but they go to church anyways, and we’re here to tell them they don’t have to.” While that intention is important and admirable, very few people—atheist or theist—seem to interpret the message as welcoming to anyone. Many of the responses I’ve seen have been vitriolic and disturbingly anti-atheist. Which raises the question: If the goal truly is to reach isolated atheists, why does the advertisement read as a dig at Christians? A better billboard for American Atheists’s stated aim might read: “Don’t celebrate Christmas? You’re not alone.” As atheists become more visible in our society, the entire “War on Christmas” back-and-forth feels ugly and unnecessary. Worse still, it seems to do little more than offer ammunition to those claiming atheists are just mean-spirited grinches. Bill O’Reilly—one of the major “War on Christmas” soldiers—made that clear when he and I discussed the “War on Christmas” a couple of weeks ago. Let’s not kid ourselves: There is no war on Christmas. We live in a culture that privileges stories of conflict, so it’s understandable that this narrative would gain traction—with or without billboards. Much of this narrative is a manifestation of religious fears about our increasingly secular society, and it reflects widespread anxieties about atheists and religious differences. But it doesn’t reflect reality. Rather, as religious diversity in the U.S. has become more recognizable, Americans have largely broadened their approach to this time of year. According to new data from the Public Religion Research Institute, the percentage of Americans who prefer the inclusive “Happy Holidays” or “Season’s Greetings” has now exceeded the percentage that prefers “Merry Christmas.” It’s not that Christmas is under attack; instead, our society is becoming better at embracing its religious diversity and challenging the notion that a single majority religion should dominate public expressions of belief. So why does the “War on Christmas” narrative persist? Based on how much play they give it each December, the “War on Christmas” narrative seems to be good for Fox News ratings. And American Atheists has openly admitted that it is good for their pocketbooks, as their talk show appearances bring in a swell of donations. Consider this from a recent profile of Silverman: “Silverman’s notorious anti-Christmas billboards and subsequent TV appearances have breathed new life into American Atheists and are often followed by an uptick in subscribers and donations. ... According to Silverman, the primary objective of the billboards is to get invitations to talk shows.” In other words: American Atheists and Fox News - alongside conservatives like Sarah Palin - seem to have discovered a mutually beneficial relationship. But does this relationship benefit atheists more broadly? Does it accurately represent the sentiments of nontheists in this country? Does it improve atheist-theist relations? Does it lessen the widespread stigma and distrust that exists between atheists and theists, which enables atheist marginalization across the U.S.? Does it invite Christians to think critically about religious privilege? Many atheists, myself included, suspect that there are more effective approaches to tackling these important issues. To start, atheists can build positive relationships with believers to humanize our communities and educate one another about our differences. That’s something that billboards, for all of their flash and fundraising capabilities, likely won’t accomplish. Atheists face real marginalization in the U.S., and it should be robustly challenged. But we also have good tidings and great joy to offer—important contributions to the public square that are currently being drowned out by attention-grabbing billboards claiming “nobody” needs Christ in Christmas. In the spirit of generosity, compassion, and kindness so often associated with this time of year, let’s ditch the billboards and build relationships of goodwill. Chris Stedman is the Assistant Humanist Chaplain at Harvard University, Coordinator of Humanist Life for the Yale Humanist Community, and author of "Faitheist: How an Atheist Found Common Ground with the Religious." You can follow him on Twitter at @ChrisDStedman. The views expressed in this column belong to Stedman. soundoff (5,210 Responses)« Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 Next »
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The CNN Belief Blog covers the faith angles of the day's biggest stories, from breaking news to politics to entertainment, fostering a global conversation about the role of religion and belief in readers' lives. It's edited by CNN's Daniel Burke with contributions from Eric Marrapodi and CNN's worldwide news gathering team.  |
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(CNN) - The “War on Christmas:” what — or who—is it good for?
Atheism is the FAITH that there is no G-d. Therefore atheism is a religion too.
Atheists don't believe in any gods. None.
Explain how not believing in the existence of any gods is a faith.
You couldn't be more wrong.
Some atheists simply feel that the idea of God doesn't merit an opinion.
This one agrees with you.
Fallacy of equivocation, twice.
Faith: Pretending to know things you don't. Most atheists don't say there are no gods – we say there is not sufficient evidence to believe there are any gods or that there are gods who care about what goes on on Earth. How is that pretending to know something we don't?
Why are you trying to tell me what I believe? Instead, why don't you try LISTENING to me tell you about what it is that I believe? I am a FORMER christian. After studying theology (many religions), I have chosen not to believe in any religion or the existence of any god(s). I believe that 9 out of the 10 commandments are generally good words to live by and tend to bring about positive results. But, I chose not to believe in any religion or god(s) – therefore, I am an atheist.
Let's examine your line of thinking here.
Do you believe in dragons?
I'll presume you do not.
Does this mean you "have faith" there are no dragons?
So is a-dragonism a religion?
Agreed, there is no war on Christmas, What does Christmas mean to a child? PRESENTS. Christmas trees, lights, candy, TV specials. Not that they are celebrating someone's birthday from over 2000 years ago, that was really in September or October. Happy Holidays, Season's Greetings, Happy Christmas or Merry Christmas. As long as I get egg nog and ham while watching A Christmas Story, call it what you want.
You'll shoot your eye out!
Happy Winter Solstice! Celebrate the first day of winter by putting up the living organism that does not worry about the cold, the evergreen pine trees! Stay warm in this cold weather by burning a yule log. And stave off the night as this is the shortest day and longest night of the year in the northern hemisphere by putting up lights.
Now then, what were you doing for a dead man's birthday and why?
I think Christmas has become nothing but an opportunity for businesses to make money. If they didn't have Christmas they would have to invent some other gift giving holiday. Maybe, we should blame the three wise men for starting this whole gift giving nonsense.
Brother...this atheist has been celebrating Christmas forever. We don't mind Christmas, we'd just rather the religion was left out of it. We don't need one religions mythology to have good will and generosity towards each other. Bring it back to being the pagan holiday it once was and quit trying to revise history.
Oh and quit using this for sensationalist news puffs when there's real stuff going on in the world. Bring back your investigative journalism department.
While you Xtians were watching us atheists the capitalists stole yer Xmas. We saw them do it and laffed.
War on Christmas?
Are there soldiers out there fighting against your right to put up a tree, open presents and worship a baby that may or may not have actually existed?
No.
There are, however, soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan dying every day.
Perspective, people.
Exactly. This "war on" crap needs to stop. It's an extreme exaggeration, and doesn't even work as hyperbole any more. It comes across as whining when people say things you don't like.
As an atheist, I agree the obnoxious billboards are probably a bit misguided. However, Christians are also professional victims. "Oh noes! We are the vast majority and we had to put up with a counter opinion for 3.2 seconds as our fragile little sissy eyes passed by a billboard!"
Santa is the Gawd of capitalism and you are a fool if you don't see that.
The reason the Atheists attack Christmas because that both hate and fear it. They hate it because so many people are walking around, smiling, enjoying themselves, practicing their faiths. And they have no faith, no true belief system beyond what they can hold and touch. So they can't really understand how people can believe in something that refuses to provide concrete proof of it's existence. Trusting something and believing is beyond their grasp. And they hate the holiday as it reminds them of how flawed they are in lacking this ability and how tiny their world is. They also fear it as, in the back of their mind, there is always this tiny idea scratching at their mind saying "What if you're wrong???". XMas merely serves as a reminder to them that maybe, just maybe, they've made the wrong choice. So of that hate and fear, they act to destroy the holiday. Like the Grinch wanting to steal XMas as if he can't enjoy it, no one can ... they do the same thing. We must destroy all the trappings and faiths around XMas as if we can't understand it and can't feel it and it reminds us we may just may be wrong .. then no one should have it!
You are the last person on Earth to understand atheism. You are like Jon Snow – you know nothing.
Oh, BS.
You have no idea what you are talking about. The only war this atheist and any atheist I know has on Christmas is when people like you open their ignorant mouths. I love the holidays. I love eggnog and gift giving and family and lights and trees. What I don't like is anachronistic Christians who delude themselves into thinking they have a Jesus monopoly on Christmas. Hey history student drop outs, the season is and always was a pagan holiday until your most holy and devout Constantine tried to unify his empire by fusing Christ to a pagan holiday. So get a clue and stop broad brushing beliefs you are afraid of.
You know, it is possible to type out your long rant in another program, such as notepad or Word, so that you can then look over the spelling, grammar and logic. Then you can select all (control-A), copy (control-C), and then switch back to this page to paste it in (control-V). It would probably help to make you look more like a person who is literate in the English language and thus is capable of presenting a coherent argument.
Don't over-analyse, Ken. Psychopathy is a spectrum disorder. There might be over 30 mil sufferers that like others to suffer in the FUSA alone. As the culture degrades for more thrills some graduate to serial killin'.
i neither hate nor fear it
i wish people merry christmas
or merry festivus
or happy holidays
doesn't matter to me as long as people are in good moods
you are a pompous d-bag
Who lives in a tiny world? People who use science, logic, and reason to understand this large multiverse or small minded people who just say "god did it"
I am an atheist who feels that I should respect other peoples beliefs as long as they respect mine not to believe in the myth that they fell for. Also exchanging presents at Yule or Winter Solstice is fun. This season can be celebrated without religion very easily. X-mas does not need religion.
I am a Christian, can you explain how I fell for a myth? I hope you don't mean I'm being scammed or conned out of something.
I've hoped that you could explain how you fell for the Christ myth, AE.
I'm not falling.
if you donate money to a god that doesn't texist, you are being scammed.
Nope. I don't do that.
Like most, you were probably just born into an environment already infested with the stuff, so you never really had a chance.
Infested? Certainly not.
"I am a Christian, can you explain how I fell for a myth?"
How can I answer this without knowing you? For most theists, they were indoctrinated as children, and their beliefs were reinforced and inculcated throughout their lives. This is why religion is divided up geographically by culture. So tell us–when did you CHOOSE to believe the myth?
I've experienced the grace and mercy of Jesus Christ in my life. It changed a non-believing agnostic into a believing Christian.
I certainly haven't fallen for anything. The myth... that we live in a fallen world, a world that has failed to live up to its own ideals, is true to me.
AE–I'm glad you seem happy. But tell me: what hard evidence persuaded you? How were you convinced? And is this evidence the sort you would accept for any other big claim? Life for example–however you were convinced–would this same lines of evidence have worked if someone claimed Thor exists, or that the Bigfoot exists–and used the same "evidence"?
Thanks
"I've experienced the grace and mercy of Jesus Christ in my life."
In my experience the conversion is almost never based cold weighing of the "evidence" and then deciding their must be a god and jesus was his son, etc. It is almost always described as a personal experience which they interpret as being from "god". It's only after this emotional experience that logic can come back into play to justify those beliefs.
Human emotions are very easy to manipulate. Studies have shown that religious ceremonies increase the production of endorphins in the brain, which give a feeling of well-being and even euphoria. God is brain chemistry.
The war on Xmas is over and Santa won.
While I am not doing any war on Christmas, I would be okay with a war on door-to-door carollers. Would using a flame-thrower be too much?
And I do get really sick of hearing Christmas music every freaking place I go. A bit is fine, but dang, it's too much. And all they are trying to do is put you in a mood to give them cash.
The holiday season is really like just one week long.. and yet that christmas music goes the span of a whole month.
I heard Christmas Carols being played November 1st.
Personally, I'd prefer not to hear them until after Thanksgiving. YMMV.
I don't think I've heard any this year. And I'm okay with that.
all atheist should take a flying f.
And a very Merry Christmas to you. Seriously.
Nothing so gay as being seriously merry for Christ's sake...
So are you putting lights and ornaments on the pot plant this year?
Spoken like a true follower for the lord Jesus Christ.
How very christian of you, I bet your parents are so proud!
Good idea.
Excuse me while I co join the mile high club.
wow, donnie, what insight
Awfully Christ like of you to say that, sir.
Oh, wait...no it wasn't.
Poor donnie. Do the bad non-believers upset you?
We can't quit something we aren't doing. Christians are not being persecuted over Christmas. They are just upset that people who aren't Christian are having the AUDACITY to mention the fact that we don't share their beliefs.
Yes! Preach it, brother Joe! 🙂
This campaign by American Atheists is NOT a pro-atheism project. Its an anti-Christian project. The idea was to attack Christianity with that ad. You don't win people over to your cause with those kind of signs, you just offend the people that disagree.
Imagine if another group did the same thing with Islam or Judaism. Imagine if Buddhists come out with a billboard saying "Who needs Mohammed?" during Ramadan?
Look at you.. pointing your finger away from the meat of the topic.
Giving everyone a point of distraction so you can douse the fire that is brought onto the christian insanity.
You prefer it if christianity isn't the disease that is targeted. Tough luck.
ANSWER is showing some mighty tough socie LUV.
Would everyone just grow up and learn to play well together in the same sandbox????
I don't support Silverman. What he does amounts to self-aggrandizement. I'd prefer to fight the battles worth fighting – getting proper education in science and history into all American schools, for one. Dismissing the Judeo-Christian concept of marriage from our laws, for another.
That is why a lot of atheists posting on this story have stated dislike of the signs. If there are any signs at all, they should be saying something along the lines of "it's okay to not believe." I tend to think that the most effective thing that is swaying people to secularize is what the Bible and religious people say (and do). Matching that is counterproductive.
I totally agree with this. While I think Christians are seriously over-reacting, I think this approach is just going to backfire. I like the idea of planting seeds of doubt, but I think a softer approach would be more effective. I like the signs that said "Don't believe in god? You're not alone." and then gave a phone number and website. I don't like the att itude that comes across in this sign, and would not support this.
Like Tom Tom, I think atheist priorities are misplaced with this sort of tactic. I think more effort and resources would be more effectively and more critically placed into keeping our government secular, keeping Creationism out of the science class, and religious fundamentalism away from interfering with women's reproductive choices–just to name a few priorities.
Getting in people's faces during everyone's favorite holiday does not seem like the best approach.
I agree with you, Dan. As an atheist(lower case, not "Atheist"), I believe we shouldn't be in anyone's face professing what we don't believe. "Activist atheist" is a contradiction in terms. Fact is, the majority in this country are Christians, and if I don't want to believe, I just don't participate. I don't care what they do or don't do. If they bring Christianity into government, or make me participate, I'll just leave if I feel oppressed. I practice "Live and let live," and religionists should too.
There is NO war on christmas by atheists. Its all made up by christians. Christ,as time has many different names from many different cultures and the christians forcibly converted people to stop them from celebrating THEIR OWN religious holidays that fell at the same time of years millenia ago. Christians need to grow up and stop assuming that they have the sole claim to everything in the world. The sheer amount of arrogance and ignorance that come from christians is unbelievable.
You don't sound like a believer.
We KNOW you aren't...saying that the day chosen to celebrate the birth of Christ is a "phony holy day".
Because it IS. Your christ was NOT born on christmas. He was born in the spring. Christmas was CHOSEN as the time to celebrate jesus birthday during the council of Naecia during Constantines era. They ALSO chose to decide whether jesus was divine because at that point in history, he wasn't considered divine. How about your insane Christians get educated before you make claims, hmm?
I am a Bible Believing Christian. Believing in Jesus Christ is not ordained for everyone. I am not going to hate anyone for that. I know this was all part of God's plan. Now, I do not celebrate Christmas or Easter or good friday or anything, because I believe all those festivals has nothing to do with Jesus Christ. Those are all pagan festivals crept inside christainity.
They didn't creep inside christianity, they existed before christianity...christians used them as a way of converting.
http://www.livescience.com/25779-christmas-traditions-history-paganism.html
You're telling a half-truth and you know what that means. You forgot it was a gubmint church.
Not telling a half truth at all.
Have your nurses not been around yet to give you your meds?
The holiday is what you make it.
I congratulate you on actually understanding your religion, and history.
I do find it hilarious when those that don't are getting upset over not calling it a "Christmas" tree, when the tree is a pagan symbol, and wooden idols dressed in tinsel and garland are discouraged in the Bible.
There is no war against Christmas... you people need to grow up!
She moved to Fox and got the ham bone.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Uf9cPXO-YI#t=0
Christmas is just another corporate holiday to sell material items. Jesus wasn't even born in December, sometime in Feb / March area. So why don't both sides just drop the whole argument and just get along.