Originally posted by Hope of Glory:
I did a Google and came up with many, many cases where the ACLU was keeping it out of public (government) jobs, and out of schools, including prohibiting songs even without the words, because "someone might think of the words and be offended".
I've seen a few of those cases as well, and generally come to the same conclusion as you. However, we should at least allow people to understand what the law allows.
It is not illegal for government employees to say "Merry Christmas". Christmas is a secular national holiday, and the phrase itself is not religios in nature. Some governmental agencies have instructed employees not to use the phrase out of professionalism, but this is an employee/employer matter, not a legal matter.
It is not illegal for schools or community organizations to sing religious christmas songs. Courts have on numerous occaision rules that sacred tunes are culturally approriate. It is only inappropriate if the songs sung are exclusively religious in nature, since songs of the season are not exclusively sacred. However, the court does not require a "minimum" number of secular songs or a "maximum" number of sacred songs.
It is not illegal for nativity scenes to be displayed on public property. The only thing illegal is if the public finances the display. If the public provides space for it, but it is paid for by a privte entity, the display is permissible.
These things have all been tried and tested in the courts (not just by the ACLU) many times, and these rights have been continually upheld.
