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house Bill H. Res. 637

Does the House Need to Speak Up Against the "War on Christmas"?

Argument in favor

Christmas symbols, traditions, and the religious holiday they celebrate have been threatened by attempts to ban them in public. Even though it's only a resolution Congress should stand against those efforts.

JTJ's Opinion
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12/25/2017
Wow, the response in this forum proves there really is a war on Christmas. In my place of business, if you don’t like the display of celebration of the birth of my savior Jesus, then by all means you are free to take your business somewhere else. Free markets.
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DrRichSwier's Opinion
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12/26/2017
This is about the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Any attack on one religion is an attack on all religions. Christian symbols must be protected at all cost.
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Alan 's Opinion
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12/25/2017
Liberals have always attacked Christmas since I can remember for decades. God forbid you have a Merry Christmas!
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Argument opposed

This is a pointless resolution. Why are our lawmakers wasting time "expressing opinions" about whether holiday and religious traditions are appropriate for public — use instead of legislating.

Merry458's Opinion
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12/25/2017
What country are we living in? Last time I checked, our Bill of Rights guarantees our right to peacefully practice whatever religion we like. The symbols and traditions surrounding Christmas have constantly changed and evolved for centuries. We are NOT a Christian nation! This bill is an egregious violation of the principles of separation of church and state.
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WaterHopsBarley's Opinion
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12/25/2017
No. There is no war on Christmas. This country was not “built on Christianity”. If the founding fathers wanted to, they could’ve demanded everyone be Christian, but that did not happen. All religions are welcome. A simple greeting is not a war on a religion.
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Ticktock's Opinion
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12/25/2017
There are more important issues that need to be addressed but also Christmas is a religious celebration and no one religion should be favored over any other. The US does not discriminate against or favor any one religion regardless of the current Administration or Congress. We have no state religion.
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What is House Bill H. Res. 637?

This resolution recognizes the importance of Christmas symbols and traditions, and expresses disapproval for efforts to ban references to Christmas. It also expresses support for people who celebrate Christmas symbols and traditions.

Additionally, the resolution notes that the First Amendment of the Constitution prohibited the establishment of a state religion, but does not prohibit references to religion or God in civic dialog.

As a simple resolution, this legislation wouldn’t proceed to the Senate or have the force of law if passed by the House.

Impact

People who appreciate and use Christmas symbols and traditions, those who object to the use of those symbols and traditions in public, public opinion of Santa Claus, and the House of Representatives.

Cost of House Bill H. Res. 637

A CBO cost estimate is unavailable.

More Information

In-Depth: Sponsoring Rep. Doug Lamborn (R-CO) introduced this legislation to express his distaste for those trying to suppress religious Christmas symbols in public:

“Seasonal religious expression must continue to be protected for all Americans. The efforts to remove religious aspects of Christmas from the public square are not only misguided, they are unconstitutional… Regrettably, there has been a troubling effort by some in America to ban any and all Christmas celebrations and traditions from the public arena. These attacks on Christmas clearly violate the rights of religious expression our Founding Fathers deliberately provided for us in the Constitution.”

This bill has 46 cosponsors in the House of Representatives, all of whom are Republicans.


Media:

Summary by Eric Revell
(Photo Credit: Serge Yatunin / iStock)

Official Title

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the symbols and traditions of Christmas should be protected for use by those who celebrate Christmas.

simple resolution Progress

  • The house has not voted
      house Committees
      Committee on Oversight and Reform
    IntroducedNovember 30th, 2017
    JTJ's Opinion In Favor
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    12/25/2017
    Wow, the response in this forum proves there really is a war on Christmas. In my place of business, if you don’t like the display of celebration of the birth of my savior Jesus, then by all means you are free to take your business somewhere else. Free markets.
    Like (47)
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    Merry458's Opinion Against
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    12/25/2017
    What country are we living in? Last time I checked, our Bill of Rights guarantees our right to peacefully practice whatever religion we like. The symbols and traditions surrounding Christmas have constantly changed and evolved for centuries. We are NOT a Christian nation! This bill is an egregious violation of the principles of separation of church and state.
    Like (1246)
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    WaterHopsBarley's Opinion Against
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    12/25/2017
    No. There is no war on Christmas. This country was not “built on Christianity”. If the founding fathers wanted to, they could’ve demanded everyone be Christian, but that did not happen. All religions are welcome. A simple greeting is not a war on a religion.
    Like (700)
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    Ticktock's Opinion Against
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    12/25/2017
    There are more important issues that need to be addressed but also Christmas is a religious celebration and no one religion should be favored over any other. The US does not discriminate against or favor any one religion regardless of the current Administration or Congress. We have no state religion.
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    OlderNWiser's Opinion Against
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    12/25/2017
    Ridiculous propaganda to stoke more privilege and create more divisiveness. Absolutely no.
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    Lexpost's Public Comment
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    12/25/2017
    What war on Christmas? Only in America can a faith that comprises 70% of the population (granted most of them aren’t real Christians) is a persecuted minority. To whomever thinks that a church can’t put up a nativity scene, or someone can’t buy a tree or give presents, go to church, do anything short of killing off the heretics-well, I have a nice bridge you can buy alongside the rest of the BS someone is feeding you.
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    Kodiwodi's Opinion Against
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    12/25/2017
    No. There is no War on Christmas! There needs to be a bigger separation between Church and State! Christianity is not the only religion that reveres Jesus! We just happen to do it poorly these days. That is not the fault of the religion or some imaginary war, but of commercialism. Heck Muslims revere Jesus more than Evangelicals do. Don’t waste you time on imaginary problems. Work on real ones like the war on poverty or children’s health or education or the environment or DACA or...
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    Kerala's Opinion Against
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    12/25/2017
    This is the stupidest, most banal resolution I have ever heard of. Stop pandering to a false narrative. There has never been, and never will be, a war on Christmas, or Christians celebrating Christmas, in this country. Also...how about that separation of church and state? Live and let live, and tackle some of the actual catastrophes that are facing our democracy.
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    Judith's Opinion Against
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    12/25/2017
    THESE SO CALLED CHRISTIANS THAT TRY TO CHANGE HISTORY TO FIT THEIR ARGUMENTS ARE ANTICHRISTIANS !!! FOR BEARING FALSE WITNESS !! THIS COUNTRY WAS FOUNDED ON ALL RELIGIONS INCLUDING PAGANISM !!!! DON'T BE FOOLED BY THE FALSE AND EVIL ANTI CHRISTIANS THAT PASTE FRIENDLY SMILES ON THEIR FACES IN CHURCH THEN DO EVIL BY LIEING TO YOU ABOUT OUR COUNTRY !!!
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    Andrew's Opinion Against
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    12/25/2017
    Who cares? As a Jewish person, I'm not trying to see Christmas banished from the public square, I'd just like to see Judaism & other holiday celebrations represented in a small way. When I say "Happy Holidays", it isn't because I hate Christmas, it's because I don't know what holidays you celebrate, and I don't like to assume, as that can be more rude than just a "Happy Holidays".
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    Don's Opinion Against
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    12/25/2017
    Since it is written into our governing document that we have freedom of religion and there is no path for state supported or backed religion - the congress needs to spend its time being about governing. This so-called War on Christmas is ‘fake news’ conjured up by the religious right to further their desire for Theocratic, sharia law type, governance. If there is any War being waged that is of religious nature it is a war being waged by the self-righteous zealots on the right. Congress needs to hold the line and remain protective of the people’s right to religious freedom - all the people’s right.
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    Dexter's Opinion Against
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    12/25/2017
    There is no war on Christmas, only fake Christians.
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    I.Got.an.Idea...'s Opinion Against
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    12/25/2017
    This is not really a thing, much like most of the whimsical things Republicans are apparently fighting for. The Founding Fathers created a separation of Church and State for a reason, and this is part of that resolution and vision. Like much of their fascist agenda, Republicans use Christmas as a marketing, branding and ultra-nationalist tool. They use it to tell people that “ we were founded as a Christian Country and if you don’t like it, go somewhere else.....”.
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    Judah's Opinion Against
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    12/25/2017
    Right now our country should be focusing on helping muslims and Jews who are in danger rather than trying to figure out the best thing for the people who's religion is not in danger
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    Emily's Opinion Against
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    12/25/2017
    This is not a real war focus on police brutality, that is a bigger issue.
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    Jessica's Opinion Against
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    12/25/2017
    There is no war on Christmas! We’ve always been allowed to say Merry Christmas. How about we do something about our President’s twitter rants instead.
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    Leo's Opinion Against
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    12/25/2017
    A useless grandstanding gesture against a nonexistent issue.
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    chris's Opinion Against
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    12/25/2017
    Who exactly is preventing Christians from celebrating Christmas? I don’t get it.
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    Terrilee's Opinion Against
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    12/25/2017
    There is no war on Christmas. All the difficulties our country faces and someone makes up some nonsense about a war on Christmas. We have religious freedom and freedom of speech. No one has hampered my celebration of Christmas.
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    Niki's Opinion Against
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    12/25/2017
    There is no ‘war on Christmas’. It is fake news and just another propaganda tool used to emotionally manipulate the unthinking masses. Do not give it credence by taking any action. Promote religious freedom instead by strengthening the separation between church and state. While you are at it, protect landscapes sacred to other religions, like Bears Ears.
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