Britain’s equality chief might think it’s time to put Christ in the center of public celebrations, but Britain is a country that has long had an established church, and that this country was founded by people who were fleeing religious persecution by that very establishment. As Americans, we have different traditions that include a strong commitment to the separation of church and state, and the resistance to establishing any religion as our official faith. For to do that relegates all other religions to second class status, and deeply interferes with our freedom to worship as we choose, to follow our own conscience and our own interpretation of divine guidance.

So no, I don’t think we’re being too ‘politically correct’ to hold to the guiding principles that our Constitution is founded upon. As someone who was raised Jewish and who is a practicing Pagan, I support Christmas. I think it’s a beautiful holiday, a wonderful celebration of birth and hope in the midst of the dark of winter. I support Christ being the ’star of the show’ in every Christian Church and Christian home. I sympathize deeply with my Christian and secular friends who are struggling to keep the holiday from devolving into CommercialMass or Giftmas and to focus on its deeper meaning. I do not support Christ being the star of the show in public celebrations—not unless he’s willing to share the stage with Lugh the Sun God and Saule the Sun Goddess, Mohammed, Buddha, Krishna, Judah Macabee and a host of others. Even then, either someone gets left out or every celebration becomes an interminable endurance test. And how do atheists get equal time?

Let’s keep our celebrations respectful of the multiplicity of approaches to religion and faith that make us a rich, diverse, and free society.