Stories like this are a perennial part of the Christmas season.  Each year, Christians and non-Christians battle over public displays of religious symbols, what labels to give to trees, and whether you should say “Merry Christmas” or “Happy Holidays.” Many Christians argue that the Constitution only forbids the government from interfering with religion, and consequently religion should be able to influence the government—an end that they view to be desirable.  Whether unwittingly or not, this worldview implies that religion’s importance is tied to whether or not the government recognizes Christmas in some way, and that public recognition lends validity and legitimacy to the religious foundation of the holiday.

But just what is the nature of the state?  Fundamentally, it is an organization that holds a monopoly on the initiation of force and coercion.  Christian anarchist Leo Tolstoy believed that the essence of government was the direct antithesis of Christian principles and wanted to see “the mist, which veils from men’s eyes the true meaning of certain acts of violence, pass away.”  To Tolstoy, it was essential that Christians knew the true heart of the state.

More specifically, Christians should think about how the US government is inept at just about everything it does. The post office is bankrupt, public schools are failing, the TSA accosts people at the airports, the Federal Reserve System debases our currency, bombs drop daily on villages and towns in several countries in our name with our tax dollars, peaceful protesters are pepper sprayed and beat by the police without provocation—the litany of charges against the US government, against all governments,  is nearly inexhaustible. Why in Jesus’ name would anyone want to involve this entity with Christmas? What is the urge to have the most violent institution in humanity’s history recognize the birthday of the Prince of Peace?

The premises of the “keep Christ in Christmas” movement are flawed, and reveal how inherently biased and statist general thinking has become.  Christ does not need to be “kept” in Christmas. Indeed, He’s never left it because Christ has always been welcome in the private sphere. For every courthouse nativity scene that becomes a local battle in the culture war, there are probably dozens more in that very same town on the lawns of private property, houses and churches alike. The companies that rent space on billboards undoubtedly would allow any private citizen or association to display the name of Christ for as long as wanted—for the right price, of course. Sovereign individuals have freedom of speech. For example, you can tell everyone you meet “merry Christmas” with a smile if you so choose, for your words are not subject to the establishment clause. Neither private entities nor markets are subject to the establishment clause. Only the government is, and for good reason.

The establishment clause of the First Amendment was not ratified out of a desire for a purely secular government on the part of the Framers, even though one could argue that secular government is a desirable end in itself.  Rather, the historical intent of the clause was also to protect the integrity of religion from the negative influence of the state. To keep the private sphere private. To leave unshackled the thoughts and conscience of man, for as James Madison wrote “conscience is the most sacred of all property.” Madison also believed that “religion flourishes in greater purity without than with the aid of government.”

Why then do some clamor to have the government intrude upon the private domain—upon the conscience—every December? Wouldn’t the celebration of Christmas be better maintained through the free market? “Peace on earth, goodwill to men” can only come through voluntary interaction, not the aggression that is at the heart of the coercive nature of the state. Those who truly believe in Christmas and all the good and hope that the season is supposed to represent must stop looking to the most criminal, immoral, and inhumane institution that has ever existed among men to give them legitimacy and recognize this holiday. The only effective way to keep Christ in Christmas is to kick the government out.