Re: First Amendment as quoted on this page

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On 10/16/01, Beth wrote:
> On 8/25/01, anon wrote:
>> If congress can't restrict the expression of religion, how
>> is it they can 1)prohibit the display of Nativity scenes
>> (just because it is on government property doesn't mean the
>> government is endorsing it - it just shows free expression}
>> and 2)the saying of "Merry Christmas" on the radio? You can
>> only say "Happy Holidays" - "Merry Christmas" is in the
>> same category as "f..." That seems a shame. Explain that
>> to me legally.
>
> The Constitution calls for the separation of church and
> state. That is the basis for the objections for displaying
> religious-themed materials in gov't facilities, prayer in
> pubic schools, etc.
>
> I don't quite know what you're talking about relative to
> holiday greetings on the radio, but since radio stations are
> not gov't entities, these choices would be a matter of
> station policy, not constitutional issues. There are many
> people in this country that don't observe Christmas - people
> of the Jewish faith, Muslims, Buddists, etc. Perhaps some
> radio stations have chosen "happy holidays" to be more
> inclusive of all their listeners.

Anon, in this area I agree with you, at least so far as the
radio/television ads are concerned. For some reason it seems to
be okay to say Happy Channukkah (my sincere apologies if I've
misspelled it) and to wish everyone a Happy Kwanzaa, but Merry
Christmas is forbidden. I'm sure Beth is right that they're
trying to be inclusive, but it bothers me too.

Re: First Amendment as quoted on this page, 12/15/06, by v.

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