At this time of year I find myself surrounded by holiday displays. Whether a display includes a nativity scene, angels, candles, a tree, Santa Claus, penguins or polar bears doesn’t matter to me; I consider them colorful – and at times extremely creative – celebrations of the season and examples of freedom of expression. I don’t mind if a display is religious, humorous or thought-provoking; I still enjoy it. But not everyone shares my view.
FSGP founder Margaret Downey and the 2009 Tree of Knowledge (C.E. Roper/Freethought Society of Greater Philadelphia)
In particular, a display in the “Free Speech Zone” of the Chester County Courthouse in Pennsylvania the past few winters has received a lot of local attention, much of it negative. For many years, the zone displayed only a nativity scene and a Hanukkah candelabrum every December. Feeling these two religious symbols standing alone did not accurately reflect the diversity of beliefs in the county, a group of atheists called the Freethought Society of Greater Philadelphia (FSGP) successfully petitioned to put up a “Tree of Knowledge” in the zone in 2007, and did so again in 2008 and 2009. The displays, which consist of a large evergreen tree decorated with covers of books (PDF, 20KB) such as Richard Dawkins’ The God Delusion, have been the target of vandalism, protests and negative publicity.
“It’s wonderful for people to be able to voice their opinions, their ideas, and to share them. But I find that Christmas is an inappropriate occasion for this particular tree,” one area resident says in a 2008 video interview. “Call it what you want; it’s a Christmas tree, and Christmas is all about the birth of Christ. So I just feel that they could find a better occasion to display their items.”
FSGP founder Margaret Downey disagrees.
“To have this time of year designated for ‘religion only’ is absurd,” she says. “The community belongs to all of us. The Free Speech Zone belongs to all of us. Expressing our First Amendment rights belongs to all of us. It doesn’t matter what time of year we do it, as long as we exercise it.”
What do you believe?
(See the America.gov blog Talking Faith to join in more discussions on religion and related topics.)
Happy holidays, as late as a blessing.
Everyone should have the right to freedom of speech and freedom of religion. It seems like only things that show the democrats in a favorable light and the republicans in a negative are covered and highlighted in the press and media. Who is running this country?
If you want to remain informed and become enlightened I challenge you to read Third Party Candidate by John Dupuis with an open mind. You can purchase it and find out more about it on amazon.com or http://www.alstair.net. Very impressive!
What is the world coming to? We can’t even agree on how to celebrate traditional American holidays without 1 “it’s all about me” contacting the ACLU for their rights. Getta a grip people.
Here’s a new novel idea – actually my partner’s:
We are not Mexican, etc. American but
American Mexican, etc.
Wouldn’t that change things; of my gosh we’d all be – gasp Americans first.
Yes, I agree with Julie. Much info on amazone site. Very impressive!
We must be reading different newspapers; I see articles criticizing Democrats as often as I see ones criticizing Republicans. (For the record, I am not a member of either party.)
But back to the main topic; what do you think about this atheist holiday display? Should it be permitted?
I don’t see anything in this story about petitioning the ACLU about rights. The atheist group asked the courthouse for permission to put up their holiday display alongside religious ones. The courthouse agreed. Some in the community have objected.
I’m afraid I don’t understand what you are trying to say here. What does being Mexican, American or Mexican American have to do with holiday displays?