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Americans Still Want More Christ (and Church) in Christmas

Americans Still Want More Christ (and Church) in Christmas

By Bob Smietana
FACTS & TRENDS
http://factsandtrends.net/
December 9, 2014

Christmas is a time for family, faith and a little bit of controversy.

This year, it's a set of atheist billboards featuring a fictional letter from a little girl who has lost her religion and says she's too old for fairy tales.

"Dear Santa," the billboard reads, "All I want for Christmas is to skip church."

No thanks, say most Americans, according to a new survey from Nashville-based LifeWay Research.

Most Americans believe Christmas goes better with a visit to church, religious Christmas songs in public school concerts, and more focus on Jesus.

And while there's much banter on cable TV talk shows about a "War on Christmas," most Americans are fine when people wish them "Happy Holidays."

All these findings are included in a new survey from Nashville-based LifeWay Research, which asked 1,000 Americans about their views on Christmas in a phone survey Sept. 26 to Oct. 5, 2014.

"Christmas traditions that have nothing to do with the Christian faith continue to multiply," says Scott McConnell, vice-president of LifeWay Research. "Still, most Americans want more of Jesus in their Christmas rather than less."

Some of the findings include:

63 percent of Americans agree Christmas should include a trip to church.
79 percent agree with the statement: "Christmas should be more about Jesus."
70 percent believe "Christmas would be a better experience if it had a more Christian focus."
86 percent say children in public schools should be allowed to sing religious Christmas songs in school-sponsored musicals.
39 percent believe using "X-mas" is offensive.
29 percent agree it is offensive when people say Happy Holidays instead of Merry Christmas.
56 percent said God's son existed before Jesus was born in Bethlehem.

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