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November 30, 2006

Proof the ACLU Isn't Anti-Christmas

It's really sad that so many Christians fail to understand the First Amendment to the point that they believe one of their best friends, the ACLU, is actually their enemy. In particular, the ACLU takes a lot of heat over its supposed war on Christmas. But events in Virginia demonstrate clearly, for those who do understand the First Amendment, that the ACLU is quite reasonable when it comes to religion.

Mount Vernon High School in Fairfax County, Va., is scheduled to host a screening of the "The Nativity Story" Thursday night, the day before its nationwide release. Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, also in Fairfax County, will host a screening Friday night.

Both showings are sponsored by the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA), a non-profit group that supports Christian clubs on high school campuses across the United States. The screenings are free and open to the public.

And the ACLU not only has no plans to sue, it also has no problem with this, even though the film will be shown in public facilities. FCA members are even being allowed to pass out fliers to fellow students inviting them to come and bring a friend. The reason is that the ACLU supports all Americans' rights to hold "voluntary events sponsored by outside organizations" on public property. Students are not being required to attend and teachers are not promoting it, so no church-state separation issue is in play. The club (FCA) is simply using the facilities the same way any other organization would be allowed to use them. Hence – no problem.

Another interesting item in this story is the real reason why Chicago barred the film from its Christmas festival (the German Christkinlmarket). It wasn't because it was a Christian film. It was because New Line Cinemas insisted it be allowed to play trailers for the movie throughout the event as part of an aggressive marketing campaign. Of course, reporting the truth to conservatives wouldn't serve to get them all riled up about a supposed "war on Christmas," would it?

Posted by Becky at November 30, 2006 01:00 PM