{"id":26417,"date":"2016-12-15T06:00:14","date_gmt":"2016-12-15T11:00:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/?p=26417"},"modified":"2016-12-14T22:05:42","modified_gmt":"2016-12-15T03:05:42","slug":"ceremonial-deism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2016\/12\/ceremonial-deism\/","title":{"rendered":"Ceremonial Deism"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"5770-a-house-with-christmas-lights-at-night-pv\"<\/a>The Supreme Court ruled in 1984 that Nativity scenes in publicly-owned spaces are legal. \u00a0As long as they don\u2019t mean anything. \u00a0Hillsdale Sophomore Nic Rowan writing in the Federalist<\/em> sees this as an example of \u201cceremonial deism.\u201d<\/p>\n

After the jump, read his argument and my thoughts on the matter.
\n<\/p>\n

From Nic Rowan,\u00a0Supreme Court: You Can Only Have Public Nativity Scenes If They Don\u2019t Mean Anything<\/a>, The Federalist:<\/em><\/p>\n

\n

A nativity scene placed in the public square is not a religious symbol. It\u2019s an instance of \u201cceremonial deism.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ceremonial deism is when a government promotes nominally religious statements or practices with the public understanding that these have been deemed to be merely ritual and non-religious through long customary usage. But a more straightforward definition is this: As long as no one believes in the thing the symbol signifies, displaying it in public does not violate the First Amendment freedom of religion clause.<\/p>\n

We see ceremonial deism everywhere in the American public square. The Pledge of Allegiance, the president\u2019s oath of office, the words \u201cIn God We Trust\u201d on our money \u2014 all use religious language for an arguably non-religious purpose. Government bodies frequently use the phrase to justify including religious motifs in the public square. For example, this past September, an Illinois judge used ceremonial deism to justify affixing<\/a>\u00a0the words \u201cIn God We Trust\u201d in big metal letters to the front of the local courthouse.<\/p>\n

The Supreme Court treats nativity scenes in the public square as an instance of ceremonial deism in the 1984 case Lynch v. Donnelly<\/em>. According to the court\u2019s opinion, erecting a nativity scene in the public square does not encourage any religious belief, but instead, it reminds local townspeople of their unique American heritage. So, while nativity scenes have had a significant place in American history, two centuries of use has changed their meaning from a religious symbol to secular and commercial commodity.<\/p>\n

Believe it or not, the Supreme Court actually had a methodical test that helped it come to this conclusion. The court used the 1971 case Lemon v. Kurtzman<\/em>, which struck down teaching the Bible in public schools, to decide if nativity scenes are religious symbols. The test has three parts:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. The statute in question has to have a secular legislative purpose.<\/li>\n
  2. It can\u2019t promote or inhibit religion or religious practices.<\/li>\n
  3. It can\u2019t give the government leeway to get too involved with any religion.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Nativity scenes only pass the Lemon<\/em> test if society divorces them from what they symbolize. That\u2019s because, let\u2019s face it, there really is only one way to interpret angels, shepherds, and wise men fawning over a baby Jesus. Unless they become independent entities with their own meaning and history, nativity scenes obviously signify Christ\u2019s coming. But, thanks to the court\u2019s opinion and the resulting cultural fallout, nativity scenes have become stand-alone objects upon which the public can impose its own meaning.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

    [Keep reading. . .]\u00a0<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

    I would say that Nativity scenes do have an objective meaning, even though subjective meaning is the only kind that many people can recognize these days. \u00a0And that objective meaning can be communicated through the potent symbols of Christmas.<\/p>\n

    But surrounding Nativity scenes with snowmen, Santas, Menorahs, Islamic prayer rugs, Kwanzaa symbols, etc., has the effect of diluting the meaning, or, rather, burying it with\u00a0distracting imagery. \u00a0Most public Nativity scenes do this as a way to tone down the meaning and comply with the Supreme Court ruling and finesse lawsuits from the Freedom from Religion Foundation.<\/p>\n

    So, from a Christian point of view, is it worth it? \u00a0Should we applaud government-sponsored religious imagery, even though it is going to be undermined?<\/p>\n

    It does at least give Christianity a public presence at the table of religious and non-religious diversity. \u00a0And there is the little matter of what Christianity actually signifies.<\/p><\/div>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    The Supreme Court ruled in 1984 that Nativity scenes in publicly-owned spaces are legal. \u00a0As long as they don\u2019t mean anything. \u00a0Hillsdale Sophomore Nic Rowan writing in the Federalist sees this as an example of \u201cceremonial deism.\u201d After the jump, read his argument and my thoughts on the matter.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1281,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[21,26,39,47],"tags":[5025,1869],"class_list":["post-26417","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-holidays","category-law","category-religions","category-theology","tag-nativity-scenes","tag-religious-images-in-the-public-square"],"yoast_head":"\nCeremonial Deism<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Supreme Court ruled in 1984 that Nativity scenes in publicly-owned spaces are legal. \u00a0As long as they don't mean anything. \u00a0Hillsdale Sophomore Nic\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2016\/12\/ceremonial-deism\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Ceremonial Deism\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Supreme Court ruled in 1984 that Nativity scenes in publicly-owned spaces are legal. \u00a0As long as they don't mean anything. \u00a0Hillsdale Sophomore Nic\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2016\/12\/ceremonial-deism\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Cranach\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/cranachblog\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-12-15T11:00:14+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2016-12-15T03:05:42+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/wp.production.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/files\/2016\/12\/5770-a-house-with-christmas-lights-at-night-pv-300x225.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Gene Veith\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Gene Veith\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2016\/12\/ceremonial-deism\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2016\/12\/ceremonial-deism\/\",\"name\":\"Ceremonial Deism\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2016-12-15T11:00:14+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2016-12-15T03:05:42+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/#\/schema\/person\/f9ca8670bcc51908a78994c0484dbfa1\"},\"description\":\"The Supreme Court ruled in 1984 that Nativity scenes in publicly-owned spaces are legal. \u00a0As long as they don't mean anything. \u00a0Hillsdale Sophomore Nic\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2016\/12\/ceremonial-deism\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2016\/12\/ceremonial-deism\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2016\/12\/ceremonial-deism\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Ceremonial Deism\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/\",\"name\":\"Cranach\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/#\/schema\/person\/f9ca8670bcc51908a78994c0484dbfa1\",\"name\":\"Gene Veith\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/054d79faea5d476edd8f99e5f14fb17f?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/054d79faea5d476edd8f99e5f14fb17f?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Gene Veith\"},\"description\":\"Gene Edward Veith, Jr. is a writer and retired literature professor, serving as Provost Emeritus at Patrick Henry College. He has authored over 25 books on Christianity and culture, literature, classical education, and theology. Dr. Veith previously held academic and editorial roles at Concordia University Wisconsin and WORLD Magazine. A respected voice in Lutheran and classical education circles, he holds a Ph.D. in English and several honorary doctorates. He and his wife, Jackquelyn, live in St. Louis and have three children and twelve grandchildren.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/cranachblog\/\",\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Gene_Edward_Veith\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/author\/geneveith\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Ceremonial Deism","description":"The Supreme Court ruled in 1984 that Nativity scenes in publicly-owned spaces are legal. \u00a0As long as they don't mean anything. \u00a0Hillsdale Sophomore Nic","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2016\/12\/ceremonial-deism\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Ceremonial Deism","og_description":"The Supreme Court ruled in 1984 that Nativity scenes in publicly-owned spaces are legal. \u00a0As long as they don't mean anything. \u00a0Hillsdale Sophomore Nic","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2016\/12\/ceremonial-deism\/","og_site_name":"Cranach","article_author":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/cranachblog\/","article_published_time":"2016-12-15T11:00:14+00:00","article_modified_time":"2016-12-15T03:05:42+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/wp.production.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/files\/2016\/12\/5770-a-house-with-christmas-lights-at-night-pv-300x225.jpg"}],"author":"Gene Veith","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Gene Veith","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2016\/12\/ceremonial-deism\/","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2016\/12\/ceremonial-deism\/","name":"Ceremonial Deism","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/#website"},"datePublished":"2016-12-15T11:00:14+00:00","dateModified":"2016-12-15T03:05:42+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/#\/schema\/person\/f9ca8670bcc51908a78994c0484dbfa1"},"description":"The Supreme Court ruled in 1984 that Nativity scenes in publicly-owned spaces are legal. \u00a0As long as they don't mean anything. \u00a0Hillsdale Sophomore Nic","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2016\/12\/ceremonial-deism\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2016\/12\/ceremonial-deism\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2016\/12\/ceremonial-deism\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Ceremonial Deism"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/","name":"Cranach","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/#\/schema\/person\/f9ca8670bcc51908a78994c0484dbfa1","name":"Gene Veith","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/054d79faea5d476edd8f99e5f14fb17f?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/054d79faea5d476edd8f99e5f14fb17f?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Gene Veith"},"description":"Gene Edward Veith, Jr. is a writer and retired literature professor, serving as Provost Emeritus at Patrick Henry College. He has authored over 25 books on Christianity and culture, literature, classical education, and theology. Dr. Veith previously held academic and editorial roles at Concordia University Wisconsin and WORLD Magazine. A respected voice in Lutheran and classical education circles, he holds a Ph.D. in English and several honorary doctorates. He and his wife, Jackquelyn, live in St. Louis and have three children and twelve grandchildren.","sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/cranachblog\/","https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Gene_Edward_Veith"],"url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/author\/geneveith\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26417","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1281"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26417"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26417\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26417"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26417"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26417"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}