ACLJ: City of Chicago Guilty of Religious Discrimination for Shunning "The Nativity Story" at Christmas Festival

May 23, 2011

2 min read

ACLJ

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November 28, 2006

(Washington, DC) The American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ), focusing on constitutional law, today called on the City of Chicago and festival organizers to reverse a decision and permit The Nativity Story movie to be a sponsor of a downtown Christmas festival.  City officials pressured festival organizers to remove the movie as a sponsor because it said the movie about the birth of Jesus Christ might be offensive.  The ACLJ said it will send a letter to city officials and festival organizers urging them to end their discriminatory practices and to permit the movie to serve as a sponsor for the festival.

This is one of the most blatant forms of religious discrimination imaginable, said Jay Sekulow, Chief Counsel of the ACLJ.  To suggest that a movie about the birth of Jesus Christ should not be included in a Christmas festival is absurd.  This transcends political correctness and centers squarely on religious bigotry.  The City of Chicago and festival organizers are exhibiting an intolerance that is offensive to Christians who celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ.  The city and festival organizers must respect the First Amendment and put an end to the discriminatory practices.  We call on the City of Chicago and festival organizers to reverse the decision and permit The Nativity Story to serve as a sponsor of the Christmas festival.

The ACLJ said it will send city officials and festival organizers a letter today outlining the legal reasoning why the city and festival organizers should permit the movie to serve as a sponsor.  The ACLJ says the law is clear:  The First Amendment as well as state and local ordinances protects freedom of religion and expression and prohibits religious discrimination.

This Christmas season, the ACLJ stands ready to provide legal assistance to ensure that the Christian message of Christmas is not targeted for exclusion.  The ACLJ also has posted online a Christmas Resource Center that provides legal information concerning the celebration of Christmas for schools and local governments.

Led by Chief Counsel Jay Sekulow, the American Center for Law and Justice focuses on constitutional law and is based in Washington, D.C.