Entry 447, on 2006-12-20 at 21:24:26 (Rating 4, Comments)
While lined up in a queue at the supermarket today I quickly read a few articles in a magazine including one discussing the changing meaning of Christmas. They were commenting that it was becoming increasingly secular and based on a consumer philosophy, and that it was losing its original religious meaning. Of course, as I discussed an another recent blog, the origin of Christmas is a pre-Christian mid-winter ritual anyway, and commercial exploitation goes back to the origin of Christmas, even if it didn't exist to the same extent we have today.
Most people would say this change was obvious, but its interesting to see the actual statistics to back up the idea. Apparently, here in New Zealand, just over 50% of people identify themselves as Christian, about 35% say they have no religion, and the rest are other religions, such as Muslim. They go on to say that many people report they belong to a religion purely through habit, and only 15% are genuinely religious, at least from the perspective of attending regular organised religious meetings.
So clearly Christmas is losing its meaning here. The only Christian message I have heard so far this year was some nut standing on the street and raving on about how Jesus sacrificed himself for us. Yeah right. No wonder people are rejecting religion. And the fact that 35% of people say they have no religion is very encouraging. And most people don't report themselves that way in the census because they just report they belong to the religion they were brought up with, so the figure is really much higher.
Our prime minister has said she has no religious beliefs. How many countries are there where a leader could say that? Just imagine what chance a presidential candidate in the US would have if he said he was an atheist! Yeah, a snowball's chance in that hot place Christians say they believe in! I'm really proud of New Zealand for that. So many other countries still partly live in the dark ages, it seems.
So I think Christmas will continue to evolve into a new form. Isn't that ironic? Christmas is evolving, just like everything else. Evolution is an inevitable consequence of systems which experience change. Anyway, the solstice day idea I presented a few days ago might become reality in the future. Let's hope so, I enjoy myths about stars, wise men, and all the rest, but I find it rather tedious when people take it all too seriously.
Comment 1 by SBFL on 2007-01-10 at 21:50:56:
Ahhh Owen, whatever makes you feel better. In reality you want the name changed too, you just can’t bear the thought of Christ so prominent in today’s NZ society. I guess you are facing a bit of a dilemma – your pet-hate consumerism/capitalism is apparently eroding your other pet-hate, Christianity. Who do you chose? Do you go with “the enemy of my enemy is my friend” approach? Which one?
The fact is consumerism has been a part of Christmas for many years and it’s been going too far for many decades now. This is not a 2006 phenomenon. In the US your secularist PC mates have been receiving a bit of a backlash this year, out with the “Happy Holidays”, and Christmas is back in Wal-mart. I guess it’s all a bit “swings and roundabouts”… one side takes it too far and public opinion starts heading in the other direction.
Regarding the 2006 census, you are right in that the ‘no religion’ grouping grew much faster than the general population since the previous census. I notice the Catholics again managed to “hold their own”, not quite managing the same growth as the general population but certainly bucking the trend amongst the other mainstream churches (all Protestant). None of this means that Christmas is losing its meaning though. The teachings of Jesus are not just practiced by those who profess a Christian faith. It is embedded in our laws and society. While Christianity is sluggish in NZ, it is growing on the world stage, and I know that you hate the thought of peace and love (the meaning of Christ) spreading throughout the world (“Lenin, Stalin, Owen” has a nice ring to it) but you better start getting used to it because Christ is here to stay.
Comment 2 by OJB on 2007-01-11 at 12:54:25:
You're right when you say that I dislike too much of both consumerism and Christianity, and that I find it hard to say which of those two aspects of Christmas I find the most repugnant! But who are my "secularist PC" mates? Are you saying there's a link between secularism and political correctness? I can assure you that I dislike political correctness as much as anyone else.
I don't have any problem with peace and love. Most atheists fully support these concepts. But that has little to do with Christianity. Jesus (if he existed) might have mentioned them on occasions, but that doesn't mean Christianity "owns" these ideas.
And I do not support extreme socialism or communism as a political system any more than I support extreme capitalism. I am a left-leaning political moderate. I wouldn't support Lenin or Stalin any more than I would support George Bush!
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