Christmas has strayed from its true spirit | Jesus Christ | spirit

Opinion

Traditionally, Christmas Day commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ. The celebrations originated in pagan and Roman times when the Romans celebrated the birth of Mithras, their sun god, on December 25th.

Since no one knew the date of birth of Jesus Christ, Mithras’ birthday was adopted as the day on which Christ’s birth would be commemorated.

Christmas remains one of the most important religious days in the Christian calendar. However, lately it has become more and more of a secular holiday and its religious connotation is rapidly disappearing.

Of course, the Christmas tree still graces shopping malls, with Santa Claus taking on the role of benevolent father to all children.

But the religious origins have almost completely disappeared.

There was a time when every Christmas card received wished the recipients and their families a Merry Christmas. Now, “Christmas” is considered a bad word and most “Christmas” cards simply offer “Happy Holidays”.

One would expect churches of Christian denominations to be packed with worshipers on Christmas Day, but that is no longer the case.

decay of faith

Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) points that “over the past 50 years there has been a steady decline in the proportion of Australians who have declared an affiliation to Christianity”.

Unsurprisingly, the older generation is likely to be more affiliated with Christianity than the younger generation.

The 2021 census reveals that an increasing number of people say they have no religion, a staggering 39%. Millennials had the highest percentage, at 46%.

Overall, adherence to Christianity decreased from 52% in 2016 to 44% in 2021. This means that the difference between the number of people who declare themselves affiliated with a religious denomination and those who say they belong to none is minimal.

This is reflected in the declining popularity of Christmas as a religious celebration, especially among young people. A growing number consider it simply a “secular” party; a considerable number of young people even believe that attributing a religious meaning to Christmas means indulging in “superstition”.

And so, December 25 has become to all intents and purposes a “secular” celebration, the start of the Australian summer holidays, the boat ride from Sydney to Hobart, the cricket matches and the start of the Summer of Tennis, which culminates with the Australian Open.

Some analysts argue that this trend represents an expansion of religious beliefs. According to this argument, religious experiences can be expressed in many ways.

For example, the head of the religious studies department at the University of Kent, UK, Christopher Deacy, to argue that the “broader picture of the ways in which people’s beliefs and values ​​are shaped in modern society” is no less “fertile in exploring questions of faith, identity, creed and values”.

He adds that we must “move away from the thesis of secularization” because it is “the very secularity of Christmas that makes it such an enthralling and transcendent religious holiday”.

This view, while interesting and intriguing, overlooks the fact that Christmas is the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ.

Because the religious roots of Christmas are disappearing

It is convenient, within the limits of this opinion piece, to mention only three reasons for the demonstrable decline of Christmas as a religious celebration.

First, the ambivalent response of the various Christian denominations to the awakening culture that is engulfing and destroying Western culture has negatively affected the role of religion in society.

Critics of religion have increasingly attacked traditional values ​​by promoting same-sex marriage and sexual and gender diversity.

The second, related to the first reason, is the incessant adoption of social engineering laws that challenge the work and beliefs of Christians.

Surely this must have undermined the faithful’s confidence in their church’s ability to oppose the legislative agenda.

For example, laws have been passed forcing priests to reveal incriminating information received in a confession. There is also a relentless call to remove exemptions for religiously affiliated schools that want to hire and accept people who adhere to their values, further weakening Australia’s Christian heritage.

Third, religious experience may have been fatally affected during the pandemic years.

Directives adopted by health bureaucracies and compliant politicians blatantly forbade communal worship, discouraging or even preventing people from attending religious services, and the police monitored the responses of Christian denominations to these directives.

There are too many bad laws in statutes and most of them are aimed at changing the fabric of society. It could be argued that society would benefit if fewer such laws were enacted.

Indeed, less social engineering legislation is better for maintaining a harmonious society committed to protecting religious liberty.

According to a saying attributed to Henry David Thoreau, author of “On the Duty of Civil Disobedience” published in 1849, “The best government is that which governs the least.”

Along the same lines, Winston Churchill stated that “if you have 10,000 regulations, you destroy all respect for the law”.

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The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times