Poll: 1 in 8 Britons Know Christmas Story in Depth

A new survey by the public theology think thank Theos has found that only 12 percent of adults in Britain have detailed knowledge of the Christmas story.

Sat, Dec. 08, 2007 Posted: 08:38:28 AM EST

LONDON – A new survey by the public theology think thank Theos has found that only 12 percent of adults in Britain have detailed knowledge of the Christmas story.

The poll asked 1,000 adults questions about the Christmas story as narrated in the Bible and found that the vast majority – 73 percent – were familiar enough with the ”classic elements” of the Christmas story such as the appearance of an angel to Mary or the birth of Jesus was born in Bethlehem.

Substantial gaps in knowledge of the Bible story appeared, however, when the questions probed more deeply. While 48 percent of those polled were able to identify John the Baptist as Jesus’ cousin, only 22 percent knew that Jesus, Mary and Joseph fled to Egypt to escape Herod’s massacre of the innocents.

Commenting on the results of the survey, Theos Director Paul Woolley said: "These findings provide us with a good snapshot of our national relationship with Christianity. They show that the Christmas story, in its classic formulation is still very much in our cultural blood stream, as indeed is the Christian story as a whole.

"However, when you probe in any depth, you discover that our knowledge and understanding is rather more shaky.”

The poll also found that knowledge of the Christmas story varied with age. The youngest people questioned (aged 18-24) knew the least about the story of the birth of Jesus, with only 7 percent knowing the correct answers to all the questions asked. Middle aged people (aged 55-64) were found to know the most, with 18 percent answering all questions correctly.

"The fact that younger people are the least knowledgeable about the Christmas story may reflect a decline in the telling of Bible stories in schools and the popularity of Nativity plays,” said Woolley.

Biblical literacy also varied from region to region, with those living in the Midlands emerging as the most knowledgeable in the Bible, followed by Wales and the South West, the South East and Northern England respectively. Scotland knew the least about the Christmas story with the lowest average number of correct answers given.

Unsurprisingly, the poll found that Christian churchgoers knew the story best with 36 percent answering all questions correctly, compared with only 5 percent of atheists.

"No-one seriously thinks that being a Christian or a member of the established Church is the same thing as being British today. But, at the same time, if we are serious about social cohesion we can't afford to ignore the stories that have bound us together as a culture for a thousand years,” said Woolley.

"Any attempts to down-play the Christmas story in order to help social cohesion are likely to be counterproductive."

Earlier in the week, The Times reported the findings of a Saga Populus survey, which found widespread concern among people in Britain over the age of 50 who feel that traditional Christian practices have been downgraded “out of a sensitivity to multi-culturalism.”

Among those polled, 85 percent protested the replacing of “Christmas” lights with “winter” lights by local authorities and the fact that nativity plays were being replaced by non-religious performances, the London-based newspaper reported.

The poll results were announced as Conservative MP Mark Pritchard led a debate in Parliament in which he complained of “Christianophobia” in the United Kingdom, directing his attack at the “politically correct brigade” in particular.

He said that attempts to marginalize Christian traditions in British life had “gone far enough” and spoke of his desire to “recognize and protect the Christian tradition of this nation”.

Maria Mackay
Christian Post Correspondent

'Naughty or Nice' List Advises Christians Where to Shop for Christmas

This Christmas season, whether a store greets you with “Happy Holidays” or “Merry Christmas” makes all the difference where you should do your shopping, says a Christian legal group.

Wed, Nov. 14, 2007 Posted: 08:24:48 AM EST

This Christmas season, whether a store greets you with “Happy Holidays” or “Merry Christmas” makes all the difference where you should do your shopping, says a Christian legal group.

Liberty Counsel is urging Christians to fight back to save Christmas from being erased from the public sphere by shopping at stores that honor instead of disregard Christmas.

The Fla.-based legal group released the first draft of its “Naughty & Nice” checklist Monday to advise consumers on which businesses to support.

Businesses and retailers are placed on the “Nice” list if they recognize Christmas and on the “Naughty” list if they censor or exclude the Dec. 25 holiday.

“Every consumer should make a list and check it twice, stop patronizing retailers which are naughty and shop at those which are nice,” said Mathew D. Staver, the group’s founder and chairman.

“Retailers which seek to profit from Christmas while pretending it does not exist should realize they have offended the vast majority of Americans who enjoy Christmas,” added Staver.

Home Depot was among the stores that made the “Naughty” list. Phrases such as “Holiday Gift Center” and “Holiday Decorations” adorn the store’s website without any mention of Christmas. Even Christmas trees are simply described as “Artificial Trees.”

Other business on the “Naughty” list included K-Mart, Nordstorm, Best Buy, Gap, Sprint, and Office Max, among others.

Some “Nice” businesses included Amazon, Macy’s, JC Penny, WalMart, and American Eagle Outfitters.

“Customers have a choice,” said Staver, “and they will not patronize corporate Scrooges.”

The list was released as part of Liberty Counsel’s fifth annual Friend or Foe Christmas Campaign, in which the group is pledging to be a "Friend" to those entities which do not censor Christmas and a "Foe" to those that do.

The “Naughty or Nice” list was compiled from information gathered by individual consumers and is updated whenever new information is received.

Supreme Court Won't Review New York City Ban on Nativity Scenes in Public Schools

Tuesday , February 20, 2007

WASHINGTON — 

The Supreme Court on Tuesday decided not to review a New York City policy that bans public school displays of nativity scenes but allows Santa Claus, reindeers, Christmas trees and symbols of Jewish and Islamic holidays.

The nation's highest court chose not to re-examine an appeals court decision against the claim filed by Andrea Skoros, a Roman Catholic mother of two sons who attended public schools. She first filed the case in 2002 in Brooklyn federal court.

Skoros had claimed that the city's policy promoted and endorsed the religions of Judaism and Islam and conveyed a message of disapproval toward Christianity.

The 2nd Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals concluded last year that no objective observer would believe it was the city's purpose to denigrate Christianity, even if the Department of Education erred in characterizing a Jewish menorah and an Islamic star and crescent as secular symbols.

Instead, the court said, the actual and perceived purpose of the holiday display policy was to use holiday celebrations to encourage respect for the city's diverse cultural traditions.

The policy affects more than one million students enrolled in 1,200 public schools and programs in the nation's largest public school system. City public school students speak 140 different languages and more than 125,000 students are enrolled in programs to learn English.

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