Catholic League answers atheists' Christmas grouchery with bold 'Christmas gift'

Atheists routinely come out of the woodwork around Christmastime to remind their fellow Americans about their antipathy to Christianity. In apparent hopes of provoking American Christians and/or dissuading them from marking the occasion with public displays such as Nativity scenes, some activists have in recent years erected satanic altars and pagan installations on government property.

So far, this year has been no different.

The Freedom from Religion Foundation, among the groups apparently hoping to pre-empt the celebration of Christ's birth with protest, set up an atheist display at the Wisconsin Capitol for the 29th consecutive year. The provocation from the activist group did not, however, go unanswered.

Unlike Christian Navy veteran Michael Cassidy who toppled the Satanic Temple's Baphomet statue at the Iowa Capitol last year, the Catholic League opted to respond to the FFRF's display with a bigger display of its own.

Catholic League president Bill Donohue said in a statement, "Call it our Christmas gift to them."

Earlier this month, the Satanic Temple erected a statue of a demon outside the state house in Concord, New Hampshire. The goat-headed demon statue — an apparent counter to the nearby Christmas tree and Nativity display — was dressed in purple vestments marked with inverted crosses and placed next to what appeared to be a black-and-white American flag knockoff with the stars swapped out for the symbol of the Satanic Temple.

Although vandals allegedly smashed the statue overnight, it was subsequently restored.

This week, the Minnesota Satanists, a chapter of the Satanic Temple, set up a satanic display mocking the Lord's Prayer and the Eucharist at the Minnesota State Capitol. The display featured a horned phoenix and a pentacle medallion along with a document titled "you are your own god."

Andrew T. Walker, associate professor of Christian ethics and public theology at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, noted, "It was wrong when Iowa satanists did this and it is wrong when Minnesota satanists do this, too. This obscenity is not what our Founders envisioned for religious liberty protections."

'Celebrate the Birth of Christ.'

The FFRF, a group whose members have adopted the ahistorical view that "most social and moral progress has been brought about by persons free of religion," similarly got in on the action. The atheist group set up its annual "Winter Solstice" exhibit at the Wisconsin Capitol.

A golden sign accompanying the exhibit says, "At this season of the Winter Solstice, may reason prevail. There are no gods, no devils, no angels, no heaven or hell. There is only our natural world. Religion is but a myth and superstition that hardens hearts and enslaves minds."

Although there was no mistaking the antagonistic nature of the exhibit, the FFRF made clear in a statement that it was responding to and mocking the Nativity scene.

In a statement, the group explained the corresponding cutout:

A major addition to the exhibit in the Capitol for over half a decade has been FFRF’s Bill of Rights "nativity," in response to a Christian Nativity display. The irreverent cutout by artist Jacob Fortin depicts Founders Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson and George Washington gazing in adoration at a "baby" Bill of Rights while the Statue of Liberty looks on.

The Catholic League noted in a Monday release, "Every year the Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF), a group of Christian-hating atheists, likes to erect a silly Winter Solstice exhibit at the Capitol in Madison, Wisconsin. This year they are in for a surprise. We have decided to send these activists a lesson, reminding them that the Christmas season is our season."

The Catholic League has a 12'x50' billboard displayed in the vicinity of Madison — home to the FFRF's headquarters — on the beltway that reads, "ATHEISTS STRIKE OUT AT CHRISTMAS. Celebrating Winter Solstice is a Child's Game. This Is Our Season — Not Theirs. Celebrate the Birth of Christ. Merry Christmas."

"Their stunt is done to compete with, and therefore neuter, the meaning of the Nativity scene at Christmas. The billboard will be up for two weeks, until Dec. 29," Donohue told the Christian Post.

Donohue indicated that he hopes "our billboard emboldens Catholics, letting them know that we will not be bullied by our adversaries."

The FFRF, which previously insinuated that Christians' faith has left them with hardened hearts and enslaved minds, responded to the news of the billboard, tweeting, "The scrooges at the Catholic League really know how to spread love and joy during the holiday season."

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