Professional Oklahoma Educators

By Blake Sonne, POE General Counsel

The Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the
U.S. Constitution provides: “Congress shall make no law respecting
an establishment of religion.”
Although the proper meaning of these few words has been debated for
over two hundred years, perhaps nowhere else in our society has the
debate concerning the proper relationship between religion and government
been argued than in the realm of our public schools.

Yes, it is that time of year again. Now that the mid-term elections are
over, let the debate over the “War on Christmas” begin! Although some
school officials often overreact for fear of potential lawsuits, schools do
not have to be the Grinch that outlawed Christmas.

In fact, school districts are under no constitutional obligation to rename “Christmas
Vacation” as “winter vacation,” or some similar name, or pretend that Christmas
does not exist. Indeed, legal precedent clearly permits Christmas, and
other holiday observations, in public schools as an integral part of this
nation’s heritage and cultural identity.

Thus, references to religious holidays of cultural significance, such as
Christmas, have a protected place in the classroom; schools are
absolutely allowed to observe holidays and to reference the existence,
date of, and cultural activities associated with the holiday.

Thus, it is completely legal for teachers to recognize and teach the
historical and religious basis for Christmas in the classroom. Teachers
can feel comfortable celebrating the holidays in their classrooms as long
as it is done in an objective way. Teachers maintain such objectivity by
instructing rather than endorsing the particulars of Christmas. In other
words, teach students about the origins of religious holidays by educating,
not indoctrinating.

For instance, class Christmas celebrations do not violate the Establishment
Clause as long as religious implications are not made the entire
focus. Otherwise, children from non-religious families may feel pressured
or coerced toward a particular faith.

Similarly, Christmas carols and musicals are entirely legal as long as
there is an appropriate mix of secular and religious songs, and an appropriate
mix of different faiths among the religious songs.

The constitutional bottom line is relatively simple: The school’s and
teacher’s approach to religious holidays must be academic, not devotional.
For example, teachers often use a “Christmas around the world”
theme to demonstrate how different cultures celebrate Christmas.
Such a solution should satisfy most people. Christians will appreciate
that students are learning something about what Christians actually believe,
whereas people of other faiths - and of no faith - can support an academic
approach to study about religions, including Christianity, as long
as it is done in ways that are educationally sound and respectful of their
own beliefs.

If you are a member with questions about Christmas in the classroom, please contact
Professional Oklahoma Educators.

The Alliance Defense Fund also offers resources on this subject here: http://www.saychristmas.org/rights/default.aspx