hanksgiving 2003 is history, and the promotion of the seasonal Christmas holiday has already begun. Along with the lights, trees, retail sale signs and other accoutrements associated with this time of year are the ephemeral disputes over what role, if any, religion should play in the celebration. The traditional stand-bys like nativity scenes and Menorahs will inevitably generate their share of controversy, but school boards and civil libertarians are also arguing about religious displays in the classroom, and even the content of student choral programs.

   All of this takes place against a wider cultural backdrop, the debate over whether religion should enjoy any government-sanctioned role in the public square. This comes in the wake of a controversial federal decision striking down the display of a Ten Commandments monument in Alabama's Judicial Building, and a pending Supreme Court review of the use of the words "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance. Groups such as the Alliance Defense Fund have launched new programs like the Christmas Project Initiative to encourage religious expression in the public square during the Christmas holiday. The 10-year old Alliance says that its mission deals with "the legal battle for religious liberty and traditional family values."

   ¶       In Colorado, the Elbert County Charter School says that it will continue its program of planned holiday choral songs despite protests from the ACLU and the Anti-Defamation League. Attorneys for Alex and Sydney Rubin, parents of two girls who until recently attended the school have charged that the current musical program causes Jewish students to "no longer feel safe or welcome there."

   The school has had a problem with religious proselytizing. Last year, for instance, a teacher showed a creationism video that warned students "the only way to be saved from the next flood is to accept Jesus Christ as your savior." Principal Les Gray told the Denver Post that showing the film was "our error."

   Attorney Barry Arrington of the Alliance Defense Fund said that the protests were mean to "censor Christmas," and charged that the ACLU and ADL were promoting an "anti-religion agenda."

   Bruce DeBoski, regional director for the League told reporters, "We're not trying to censor anyone. We support religious liberty, but we don't want tax money used to promote any one religion."

   ¶       In East Whiteland, Pennsylvania, requests from parents to have a Christian nativity creche erected in the local school has generated controversy and division.

   Teresa John, the parent of a fourth-grader at the Great Valley School District, told reporters that "there doesn't appear to be tolerance for Christianity at Christmas time.

   "The Christmas holiday has been eliminated over the years by changing the Christmas tree to a Giving Tree, changing the Christmas concert to a holiday concert, changing the Christmas break to a winter break, and encouraging class moms to come up with a craft for the holiday party that isn't angels."

   John was among the parents asking school officials "to give Christmas its fair, historical representation and rightful place with the other holidays that are celebrated at this time of year."

   Another parent who supports presentation of a nativity creche told school board members that her survey of other residents in the area with youngsters in Charlestown Elementary found that 90% claimed to be Christians.

   ¶       So where should parents and school officials draw the line when it comes to acknowledging "Christmas" as a secular holiday?

   Constitutional attorney Malia Brink warns, "Any religious display in a public school, particularly an elementary school, warrants suspicion and raises concerns of religious endorsement."

   She added that a number of factors must be weighed in evaluating the legality of any presentation or seasonal activity, including the intent behind the display. In addition, no one religion may be favored over others, or above nonreligious "belief" systems.

   Ellen Johnson, President of American Atheists, said that complaints over religious displays in schools usually rise around the Christmas holidays.

   "Our response to this problem is pretty straightforward," Johnson said. "Religious displays of any kind simply don't belong in public schools. There may be some truth to the claim that even having an evergreen tree in a hallway raises legal concerns -- but when you put an angel figure on top of it or add a sectarian nativity creche, you're clearly running afoul of the First Amendment."

   Johnson added that groups like the Alliance Defense Fund or Pat Robertson's American Center for Law and Justice are trying to "spin" the Christmas holiday into an excuse for proselytizing.

   "If they want nativity scenes, religious songs and prayer, they should hold these events in churches or private residences, not in taxpayer-supported public schools."

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