Well, it is about that time a year again when Christians in the United States complain about a ‘war on Christmas’ supposedly waged between secularists and believers who want to see greater acknowledgement of Christmas and Jesus in the public sphere. This year it looks like it is my fellow unbelievers who are kicking off this annual tradition with the following ads which are now appearing in the D.C. areay (sponsored by the American Humanist Association):

As expected, some Christians are already viewing this as a direct attack on Christmas or an effort to destroy the holiday (see, for example, this lovely blog post). Fox News has already made fun of the ads by taking a shot at the idea that atheists feel lonely during the holidays. Brian Kilmeade of Fox and Friends, for example, offered the following alternative slogans:

 ”A lot of times during the holidays, we don’t think enough about people who don’t think enough about the holidays.”

“There’s nobody’s birth to celebrate, so give an atheist a hug.” 

“Atheists should get together and not celebrate all at once.” 

The point about these ads is simply this: They are not seeking to destroy Christmas or even compete with it. Rather, it is an attempt to reach out to other atheists, agnostics, and non-believers to let them know that there are groups of like-minded people and they do not have to feel alone while others partake in religious celebrations. This is precisely how Fred Edwords, spokesman for American Humansts, put it to the Associated Press:

“We are trying to reach our audience, and sometimes in order to reach an audience, everybody has to hear you,” said Fred Edwords. “Our reason for doing it during the holidays is there are an awful lot of agnostics, atheists and other types of non-theists who feel a little alone during the holidays because of its association with traditional religion.”

Once again, as expected, any assertion of our independence from a religious holiday (or at least the traditional, religious aspects of it, if you consider the rampant commercialism and secular infusions into Christmas celebrations), is taken as a full frontal assault or worse some twisted desire to take Christmas away from Christians. Nonsense. What is at issue here is this underlying presumption that atheists who live in a United States dominated by Christians we are therefore somehow expected to shut up and conform to Christian traditions and holidays. 

Yeah – happy holidays, indeed!