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'CHRIST IN CHRISTMAS' VANISHING IN AMERICA
Fewer Christians believe in all parts of Jesus' birth in Bible
A new Pew Research Center survey has found a majority of U.S. adults believe the religious parts of Christmas are emphasized less now than in the past – and yet, many people are not bothered by this perceived development.
According to the survey, 56 percent of Americans believe American society in general emphasizes the religious aspects of Christmas less now than in past years. But of that group, 45 percent say the trend doesn’t bother them. Thirty-two percent said it bothers them a lot, and 25 percent said it bothers them some.
The rest of the survey results show that many of the Christian parts of Christmas have indeed declined a bit over the past four years yet remain fairly strong.
Pew found 90 percent of Americans celebrate Christmas, with 46 percent celebrating it as more of a religious holiday. That number was slightly down from the 51 percent who celebrated Christmas as more of a religious holiday in 2013, but it was still greater than the 33 percent who said they celebrate Christmas as more of a cultural holiday.
About half of respondents (51 percent) said they plan to attend religious services on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day, roughly the same as four years ago.
However, the Millennial generation seems to be heading in a more secular direction than their parents and grandparents. Millennials were the only generational cohort in which more respondents said they celebrate Christmas as a cultural holiday (44 percent) than as a religious holiday (32 percent).
Millennials were also the only generation for which a minority (42 percent) said they plan to attend church on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day.
Meanwhile, 66 percent of Americans still say Christian displays such as Nativity scenes should be allowed on government property, slightly down from the 72 percent who said that three years ago. Twenty-nine percent are willing to allow Christian displays only if they are accompanied by symbols from other religions, such as Hanukkah candles.
Majorities of Americans continue to believe certain aspects of the biblical Christmas story are true: that Jesus was born to a virgin, that he was laid in a manger, that an angel announced Jesus’ birth to shepherds and that wise men, guided by a star, brought Jesus gifts. Fifty-seven percent believe all four of these things, down from the 65 percent who believed all four in 2014.
Unsurprisingly, Christians are far more likely than the religiously unaffiliated to believe the Bible’s account of the first Christmas. And the religious “nones” have become even more skeptical in the past three years: Whereas 21 percent of them believed all four aspects of the Bible’s Christmas story in 2014, only 11 percent held those beliefs in this year’s poll.
But belief in the biblical Christmas story has also declined among Christians, to where only about three-fourths (76 percent) of Christians believe all four of the aforementioned aspects of the Christmas story. That number was 81 percent three years ago.
And once again, Millennials were less likely than older generations to trust the biblical Christmas narrative. While slim majorities believed in Jesus’ virgin birth, the manger scene, the angel’s announcement to the shepherds and the story of the wise men, a minority (44 percent) said they believed all four of these things. That number was 59 percent just three years ago.
The Pew Research Center conducted this survey by telephone from Nov. 29 to Dec. 4 among a representative sample of 1,503 adults nationwide. The entire report can be read here.
http://www.wnd.com/2017/12/christ-in-christmas-vanishing-in-america/
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