Michael Kelly Mr Higgins’ apparent belief that religion is a club ‘keeping a society together’ is as superficial as it is stupid, writes Michael Kelly
Why are Irish politicians so afraid of mentioning faith – specifically Christianity – around Christmas? Now, it’s not as if they’re any more comfortable about it at any other time of the year, but Christmas messages from our political leaders must rank as the most vacuous in the world.
Take Taoiseach, Enda Kenny, for example. He looked even more wooden and uncomfortable than usual in his video message preaching in vague terms about economic recovery. Even the Taoiseach seemed bored by the script as he rattled off the lines as images of Dublin airport flashed in the background.
Mr Kenny seemed oblivious to the irony of the fact that the day his message was released was the same day a report revealed that more than 1,000 children under the age of eight are homeless in Dublin. Recovery? For some, perhaps.
There was no mention of Christianity, the birth of Christ or faith in Mr Kenny’s address. Christmas, it seems, has become a hollow festival marked by a desire for vague feelings of wellness and a few glasses of wine with friends.
While President Michael D. Higgins did manage to draw parallels in his Christmas message between the plight of the Holy Family and Syrian migrants in Europe today, his words at the Christmas Eve carol service broadcast from Áras an Uachtaráin were banal bordering on meaningless.
Mr Higgins told RTÉ that, at Christmas, people “use, if you like, the forms of spirituality that are closest to them linking, obviously, their different belief systems to different practises that they have, little rituals that they have”.
“That’s very, very important, I think, in keeping a society together,” Mr Higgins opined.
Apart from the obvious smug reductionism at the heart of describing Christianity as “little rituals”, Mr Higgins’ apparent belief that religion is a club “keeping a society together” is as superficial as it is stupid.
What our ham-fisted political leaders fail to grasp is that for believers, Christianity is a living reality not a cutesy story from 2,000 years ago. For Christians, the birth of Christ – the Incarnation – marks the decisive moment in human history where God directly intervened and became human to transform the world forever, not to keep society together.
The miserable approach to Christmas from Ireland’s political elite is in stark contrast with mature, pluralist societies.
Take multicultural Britain, for example, Prime Minister David Cameron made Christianity central to his Christmas message. Mr Cameron insisted that “it is because of these important religious roots and Christian values that Britain has been such a successful home to people of all faiths”.
Similarly, Queen Elizabeth II is not shy about using her Christmas message to reflect on the real meaning of Christmas. This year, she quoted the Gospel of St John and reminded her subjects of the evangelist’s words that “the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it”.
In the US, President Barack Obama – leader of perhaps the most culturally- and religiously-diverse nation on the planet – also had Christianity at the core of his Christmas message. It was to the cradle of Christianity, in particular, where Mr Obama turned: “In some areas of the Middle East where church bells have rung for centuries on Christmas Day, this year they will be silent,” he said.
“This silence bears tragic witness to the brutal atrocities committed against these communities by ISIL,” the president added.
So, why can political leaders in extremely pluralist democracies say that Christmas is about, er, you know, Christianity, but Irish politicians can’t?
Of course, if Ireland was a truly pluralist country, confident in the fact that it is a predominately Christian society though open to followers of all religions and none, there’d be no problem.