Video
Twitter
Facebook
RSS Feed
THE QUESTION
How should White House celebrate Christmas?
Christmas decorations at the White House include a creche in the East Room (despite reports that White House social secretary Desiree Rogers suggested that the Obamas were planning a "non-religious Christmas"). Should the White House, whose residents serve all Americans, display a crèche or a menorah or any strictly religious symbols during the holidays?
(Cover photo: Since 1967, the White House creche (left) has been the centerpiece of the East Room. The 47 Baroque figures in the creche are made of carved wood and terra cotta, were created in Naples, Italy in the late 18th century. -- Getty images)
Posted by
Sally Quinn and Jon Meacham on December 7, 2009 11:37 AM
FROM THE PANEL
A memo regarding the Christmas creche
Despite the fact that use of Christian symbols has been a consistent practice of every administration since the founding of the United States, it is never too late to worry about this problem.
Posted by John Mark Reynolds, on December 11, 2009 3:03 PM
Our priorities
Don't we have enough public concerns to worry about without fretting over whether or not the Obamas want to display a crèche in the White House?
Posted by Michael Otterson, on December 8, 2009 5:28 PM
E pluribus unum
In the White House, there ought to be plenty there to remind the world that this is in fact a pluralistic society. "E pluribus unum" it says somewhere, stating in essence that our differences make us a strong "one," but I think the strength of that "one" comes only if we respect the differences which make us many.
Posted by Susan K. Smith, on December 8, 2009 11:01 AM
Obamas at Christmas: Balancing public and personal
If Obama wants to display a creche as part of his personal and family religious practice, that should be OK, and it can be done in the private sections of the White House. But for the Presidency to display the creche and to have a Christmas Tree is a different matter, one that is not nearly so clear cut.
Posted by Pamela K. Taylor, on December 8, 2009 10:43 AM
Religious displays at "The People's House"
Normally, under the First Amendment's ban on the establishment of religion, the government may not promote, sponsor or display thoroughly religious symbols such as a crèche. The White House is different. The crèche in the East Room is more like an individual displaying it in a private home or on one's lawn or a church doing so in the church yard.
Posted by J. Brent Walker, on December 8, 2009 9:55 AM
It's about the Constitution
I am not a person who believes that my religious freedoms are endangered by the sight of a tree or a devotional tableau. This question is not about "what harm could it do" -- the answer is, "not much." Instead, the question has to do with what is consistent with the principles of the Constitution, and a creche in the East Room of the White House isn't.
Posted by Jack Moline, on December 8, 2009 9:29 AM
Giving too much attention to baby Jesus
If we are going to have a crèche in the White House -- along with other faith symbols -- let's remember the moral claims that come from the man Jesus.
Posted by Robert Parham, on December 8, 2009 8:58 AM
Symbol wars
There is no blueprint for how a whole nation moves through such broad cultural and political shift as the current one over the relationship of an increasing religious diversity to our public life. But this much is clear. Neglect the power of religious symbols at your peril.
Posted by Susan Brooks Thistlethwaite, on December 8, 2009 8:22 AM
For the crèche, give Obama a pass
The Obama White House, more than any Administration before, has given itself to celebrating faith with the subtle, yet manifest finesse reflecting the pluralistic perspective of this Christian First Family.
Posted by Aseem Shukla, on December 7, 2009 11:08 PM
Scrooge is a secularist
To those that desire to convert America into a post religious, uber-secularist society, we say one thing; bah humbug!
Posted by Samuel Rodriguez, on December 7, 2009 9:31 PM
White House also someone's home
First, the White House is also a home. The expectation that the Obamas should bracket who they are in order to please other people is inappropriate and unfair. Second, such bracketing actually cuts against the freedom of faith which lays at the center of the entire debate about the propriety of such holiday symbols.
Posted by Brad Hirschfield, on December 7, 2009 9:01 PM
Whose house is it?
I'm disappointed that President Obama didn't end the tradition of an East Room crèche display, a change I could believe in. I hope he will at least give a shout-out to those of us with other traditions, including humanists and atheists.
Posted by Herb Silverman, on December 7, 2009 5:00 PM
The "war on Christmas" flap is getting old
With 40 million Americans having trouble putting food on the table and 10 percent out of work, there are more important things to worry about than whether the president, following the tradition of his predecessors, is disregarding the separation of church and state by displaying a creche in the White House.
Posted by Susan Jacoby, on December 7, 2009 1:38 PM
Save & Share:
Listening2: The reason that a Christmas tree and Christmas decorations are displayed in the White House, is to celebrate Christmas. I suppose that thos...
CellBioProf: The one "event of the season" that should be publicly recognized is Winter Solstice. It is a real astronomical event, and marks the point at...
