Christmas is traditionally the day to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. But an alarming new study reveals that the idea of Christ is consistently being left out of Christmas.
Imagine family and friends throwing an annual birthday party in your honor. But when you show up, nobody acknowledges you, honors you, or shares any sort of celebration with you. Instead, everyone in attendance is more concerned with the pretty party decorations, good music, delicious food and drinks, and giving gifts to everyone but you! Well, according to some religious scholars, that is exactly how modern society is treating the birthday of the Savior.
Two new surveys discovered that 9 out of 10 Americans, including atheists, agnostics, and followers of Judaism and Islam, celebrate the holiday of Christmas. But their connection to the holiday has more to do with commercialism, including Santa Claus, a decorated tree, gift exchanges, shopping, reliving childhood memories, and overall holiday cheer. Or in other words, Jesus ISN’T the reason for the season.
According to Ed Stetzer, president of LifeWay Research, a Nashville-based Christian research organization, only 74% of Americans surveyed called Christmas even “primarily” a religious event. 89% surveyed said they give gifts, 86% dine with family or friends, 80% put up a Christmas tree and 79% play holiday music. And with a continuously poor economy, many families are disappointingly saying they can’t afford to have Christmas this year. Except they’re not referring to anything spiritual or even remotely related to Jesus. They’re disappointed because they can’t afford the tree, or tons of presents, or all things commercial and not of Christ.
AMONG OTHER FINDINGS:
•58% say they “encourage belief in Jesus Christ as savior.”
•47% attend church Christmas Eve or Christmas Day.
•34% watch “biblical Christmas movies.”
•28% read or tell the Christmas story from the Bible.
“It’s alarming to me that while 9 in 10 celebrate Christmas, only 6 in 10 encourage any belief in the source of Christmas and only 3 in 10 actually read the story of Christmas,” Stetzer says. For a day that’s supposed to be the birthday celebration of the Son of God, the birthday party now seems to be about everything and everyone but Him.
