Americans remain split on whether they prefer to be met in stores with “Merry Christmas” or a more general greeting like “Happy Holidays,” according to poll results released Monday by Public Religion Research Institute.
The poll found 47 per cent of Americans say stores and other businesses should use “Happy Holidays” or “Season’s Greetings” out of respect for people of non-Christian faiths, while 46 per cent say they should not. Those results have not changed much since 2010, when those numbers were 44 per cent and 49 per cent, respectively, according to PRRI.
Still, Americans’ answers reveal divides by religion, politics and age.
Nearly two-thirds of white evangelical Protestants and 58 per cent of Catholics preferred “Merry Christmas,” while similar numbers of non-white Protestants (56 per cent) and religiously unaffiliated Americans (58 per cent) preferred an all-inclusive greeting, according to the poll.
White mainline Protestants closely mirrored national numbers with 48 per cent preferring “Merry Christmas” and 46 per cent, “Happy Holidays.”
Republicans were as likely to support “Merry Christmas” (67 per cent) as Democrats were to support “Happy Holidays” (66 per cent). And young adults ages 18 to 29 were more likely to support nonspecific greetings (67 per cent), while adults aged 65 and older wanted to hear “Merry Christmas” (54 per cent).
Greetings notwithstanding, Christmas is the most popularly celebrated holiday in a month packed with festivities.
Nearly nine in ten (89 per cent) Americans say they will celebrate the birth of Jesus this December. Another 4 per cent say they will celebrate Advent, 3 per cent will celebrate Hanukkah or the winter solstice and 1 per cent, Kwanzaa, according to PRRI.
That comes as the number of Americans celebrating Christmas as a secular holiday, more about Santa Claus and elves and reindeer and presents, has jumped to 27 per cent this year, up from 19 per cent who said their observance was “not too religious” in 2005.
Four per cent of Americans say they will not celebrate any holidays this month, according to poll results.
PRRI surveyed 1,004 Americans ages 18 and older via telephone between 7th and 11th December, according to the organisation. The margin of error for the poll is plus or minus 3.6 percentage points.
