When Christmas causes offence

THE Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu, has hit out at those who he believes are trying to take the religion out of Christmas.

The politically correct belief that a Christian Christmas offends those of other faiths is mistaken, the Archbishop said.

Attempts to secularise Christmas - such as the bid by Birmingham city council in 1998 to rename Christmas "Winterval" - were part of a systematic erosion of Christianity from public life, Dr Sentamu added.

"In the eight years since Winterval, there have been many other instances and decisions where Christianity is being systematically eroded from public view - more often than not in the fear of offending those who would not be offended in the least," he told a church gathering in Newcastle.

But is he right that a Christian Christmas does not cause offence to those of other faiths? Or, in a multi-cultural society, should we make Christmas more secular?

The Sikh

GURDEEP Chadha has lived in York for more than 30 years, brought up two daughters here, and is an adviser on Sikhism at York St John University.

There is no way that Sikhs living in Britain would be offended by the majority of English people celebrating a truly Christian Christmas, she says.

"Sikhs very much believe in tolerance. There would be absolutely no offence taken. Christmas is a Christian festival, and in this country the majority of people are Christians."

When her own two daughters were growing up in York, she and her husband, also a Sikh, had a small Christmas tree in the house and gave their children presents at Christmas. "We didn't want them to feel left out when all the children went back to school after New Year and everybody asked them what they got for Christmas," she says.

The family doesn't celebrate the Christian aspects of Christmas - but she fully respects the right of Christians to do so. In fact, she thinks it would be a shame if British people allowed what was an important part of their own cultural heritage to be watered down. "You are in danger of diluting your own festival."

It is good to be tolerant of other faiths and traditions, she says. "But don't dilute your own. We celebrate Diwali, which is our own festival. There is no conflict."

The Muslim

THOSE who seek to take the religion out of Christmas for fear of causing offence do a great disservice to Christians and non-Christians alike, says Professor Mohamed El-Gomati, of York Mosque.

Far from making society more tolerant, they are in danger of making it less so, he says - as British Christians come to blame those of other faiths for being unable to celebrate their own religious beliefs.

A Christian celebrating a Christian Christmas or any other Christian religious festival does not cause offence, Prof El-Gomati says. He recently visited York Minster during the Archbishop of York's week-long fast for peace in the Middle East.

"I met him, we spoke with each other. I did my prayers, he did his prayers differently. He was celebrating what he believed in, I was celebrating what I believed in. It did not cause offence."

Prof El-Gomati's own children were educated in the UK, and debated with the colleagues and classmates about the birth of Jesus, and what he stood for. "Fantastic," he says. "The real meaning of Jesus is peace and law and tolerance, and practicing peace and love - and it is the same with my own faith."

The Christian ministers

THE Rev Chris Cullwick, a workplace chaplain in York, says those who seek to take the Christ out of Christmas claim it is because they do not want to cause offence to other communities.

But he works with other faith groups, Chris says, and he knows that they do not take offence at Christians celebrating their own religion. "They are quite happy about it."

What is really happening, Chris says, is that there are those who are out to secularise society. "It is about removing religion from public life," he says. "Christianity is being erased from public life."

That process, however, is out of step with what most people want, he says.

If anything, Chris says, there is a reaction against the growing secularisation and commercialisation of Christmas. "Many parents are saying we don't want our children to see Christmas as just a commercial celebration," he says.

Mark Troughton, pastor of the York Evangelical Church, says those who seek to impose secularism on Christmas or on the public demonstration of Christianity in general are guilty of "fascism with a small f'".

Britain has an "undeniably Christian heritage" which we should cherish, he says.

But, of course, wanting to celebrate a properly Christian Christmas does not mean denying the right of people of other faiths to celebrate their own religions in their own way.

Radio 4, with its "thought for the day" feature, strikes the right balance of giving airtime to people of all faiths and none to express their views, he says.

The religious academic

PAULINE Kollontai, who lectures in world religion at York St John University, says attempts to reduce the Christian elements of Christmas can be "quite dangerous".

If we try to encourage Christians to take the religion out of their religious festivals, does that mean we will start asking other faith groups to take the religion out of their own festivals?

There is a danger, in this drive towards a more secular society, of religion being ghettoised, Pauline says. "In a diverse society, people have the right to practise their beliefs."

When we start telling people that they can't or shouldn't do that, then we start to infringe their religious rights, she says.

The danger of not celebrating our own beliefs for fear of offending those who do not share them is that we could end up with a dull, homogenised society lacking in diversity.

"We don't want a monocultural society. Diversity is good for us," she says. "It is a strength of society, not a weakness."

The humanist

NEW Earswick poet Roy Stevens describes himself as an "agnostic humanist".

As such, he believes we should all be free to celebrate Christmas in the way we want.

He doesn't much like the vulgarity of our increasingly-commercialised Christmas. There is nothing much to do with Christianity in the way Christmas is marked, he points out.

He also feels the Christian church has failed society, by concentrating on the "wrong sins". The church puts too much emphasis on people's personal behaviour - such as whether they are homosexual or have sex before marriage - and not enough on more pressing problems, such as war and global warming.

But if people want to celebrate a Christian Christmas, that is entirely up to them, he says. "I have no problem with that. But for me, it is not important to have a Christian Christmas, but to have a loving and happy Christmas. I want to be with my family and feel we all love each other."

What the Archbishop said...

THERE is a "clash of traditions, perceptions and aspirations between those who want to see faith privatised and those of us who see a proper role for faith in the public sphere: in our schools, our workplaces and in our politics," the Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu told religious leaders in Newcastle.

"This clash can be seen most readily in the actions of public authorities and can be seen as cases of Wintervalitis' after the actions of Birmingham City Council who in 1998 tried to rename Christmas as Winterval' in an attempt not to offend anyone. Such was the outcry that the council dropped the idea.

"But in the eight years since Winterval, there have been many other instances and decisions where Christianity is being systematically eroded from public view - more often than not in the fear of offending those who would not be offended in the least or because of the mistaken belief that Christianity has no role to play in the public arena.

"This systematic erosion is subtle, with minor changes which, drip by drip, erode centuries of Christian heritage and identity. In the fear of not offending someone, the illiberal atheists under the cloak of secularism end up offending everyone."

PC attempts to take Christ out of Christmas

* In 1998, Birmingham City Council attempted to rename Christmas "Winterval".

* In 2001, Luton described its Christmas lights as "luminos", taken from Harry Potter.

* Torbay Council decided to remove a cross from the wall of a crematorium.

* Last week, Royal Mail was criticised for issuing a set of Christmas stamps that had no Christian theme.

No 'winterval' here

"Christmas celebrations are an important part of York's festivities, "a spokesperson for City of York Council said today. "As well as providing entertainment and celebrations for local residents, they also attract large numbers of visitors to the city.

"The council has no plans to remove Christmas from the city's festivities and is supportive of all religious festivals."

NICK APPLEYARD asked the people of York whether we should dump Christmas in favour of Winterval'?

Adrian Davison, 61, of Selby: "I agree with the Archbishop, Christmas is a religious ceremony. This doesn't mean that it detracts from other faiths though."Jo Marks , 58, of Bishopthorpe Road, York: "It's ridiculous we all live in a multi-cultural society respecting each others beliefs. You wouldn't stop people calling Diwali Diwali would you?"Maggie Scaithe, 57, of Stamford Bridge: "No we need to keep our English traditions. The Christmas message may have become more commercial but it is only keeping up with the times."Paul Anderson, 33, of South Cave: "Not all of us are religious, yet some are. You have a choice to celebrate Christmas and it has been going on for years so would be hugely insensitive to those people with faith."Terry Prigg, 43, of Fulford: "Absolutely not, it's tradition. Though it's changed and become more commercialised, we shouldn't let go of our traditions."Katie Williams, 23, of Weldrake: "I'm not at all religious, yet I love the warm feeling that Christmas brings, especially the giving and receiving. It is a time for bringing people together and disassociating it from its origins would be a shame."