FACES AND PLACES: Celebrate Christmas ... live longer! (12/21/03)

FACES AND PLACES

by Myron B. Kuropas

Celebrate Christmas ... live longer!

Does celebrating Christmas prolong your life? It all depends.

No, if you only celebrate the superficial, commercial aspects of Christmas, you know, the gifts, the singing chipmunks, the partying, the Santa-Claus-is-coming-to-town part of the holiday season.

No, if Christmas and Easter are the only times you go to church while you spend the other 50 or so Sunday mornings of the year reading the newspaper, or golfing, or at soccer matches, or driving to professional football games.

Yes, if you celebrate the essence of Christmas as part of a year-round, purposeful, religious sojourn which brings you ever closer to understanding what God wants you to do with your life. Yes, if you are more grateful to God than demanding of God. Yes, if you appreciate the genius of Christianity and the profound significance of the words "peace on earth, good will to men." Yes, if Christmas is an integral part of a daily prayer life that renews you spiritually and brings you inner peace.

A religious belief that brightens life's journey is good for you as well as for society. Psychologist Carl Jung once said, "If the individual cannot renew his spirit, society cannot renew itself - for society is composed of individuals."

But it's not only a sense of spiritual well-being that religious involvement improves; your physical health also is enhanced. Recent scientific studies have indicated that you're 29 percent more likely to live longer if you're involved in religion than if you're not.

Dr. Michael McCullough of the National Institute of Healthcare Research recently reviewed 42 studies that measured health and religious involvement - defined by such activities as regular church or synagogue attendance, frequency of daily prayer and membership in church organizations. After examining the experiences of nearly 126,000 individuals, he discovered that there exists a significant positive link between religious practice and living longer.

Another research project conducted by Dr. Harold Koenig of Duke University reviewed some 1,200 studies that examined the religion-medicine connection and found an association between religious involvement or spiritual belief and a decreased risk of such conditions as stroke, disease and depression.

Part of the reason, of course, is the healthy behavior associated with religious practices. People who believe that their body is a sacred trust, a gift from God, tend to take better care of themselves. Mormons who shun coffee, tea, liquor and tobacco live longer.

The serenity that comes from living life according to God's plan is another reason for longevity. Catholic nuns, for example, are usually long-lived.

Religious people in America today are not the caricatures suggested by the non-religious life, which often portrays us as Bible-thumping, poverty stricken, shot-gun-rack yahoos who are poorly educated and easily led. On the whole, religious practitioners are more affluent, better educated and committed to making their community a better place to live. They contribute more to worthwhile causes, volunteer more and are more politically active.

A Fox News report early in the month indicated that the vast majority of Americans (96 percent) celebrate Christmas while 5 percent celebrate Hanukkah and 2 percent the African American holiday of Kwanzaa. (The discrepancy in the total percentage is due to the fact that the poll allowed more than one answer, i.e. some people observe more than one religious holiday in December).

Most Americans (87 percent), moreover, believe that nativity scenes should be allowed on public property. In the name of "multiculturalism" and "diversity," however, the chancellor of the New York City Department of Education recently prohibited the display of the Christ Child in New York City schools while permitting displays of the Jewish menorah and the Islamic star and crescent. Jews and Muslims are protected it seems, while Christians are treated as second-class citizens.

Are Jews the problem? I don't think so. Jewish teachers with whom I worked in the public schools had no problem with Christmas. They appreciated the spiritual value of Christmas. Writes Jewish columnist Don Feder: "While Christmas is not my holiday ... I am secure enough in my own religion not to be intimidated by the professions of faith of others who follow a different tradition. You might say I'm pro-Christmas, in a spiritual sense."

If Jews are not the problem - I believe that with the possible exception of ADL head Abraham Foxman, most Jews would probably agree with Don Feder - why are Christians being marginalized in our society? Dr. Michael Novak believes that "a small minority of Americans, about 6 or 7 percent, mostly from the highly educated elite, have their reasons for despising Christianity, and they make their hostility to Christianity quite evident. They do not represent American culture but they do represent a small, articulate voice in the culture." They tend to dominate the national voices of the legal profession, a significant number of media opinion leaders and the entertainment world, believes Dr. Novak. I would add university professors to Dr. Novak's list of fanatic secularlists, as well as those who respond to the siren song of People for the America Way and the ACLU.

So what does any of this have to do with religious Ukrainians? Quite a bit, I'm afraid. The glorious, life-enriching traditions of Ukrainian religious life are being ignored by many of our children and grandchildren. Young and impressionable, they are being quietly lured away by pagans. It's up to us, parents and grandparents, to bring them back, lovingly, for their own health.

Regardless of what the non-religious left would have you believe, America was founded by practicing Christians and remains a Christian nation. Keep in mind that our laws and our freedoms are predicated on Judeo-Christian principles. Resolve to be politically incorrect in 2004. Become a regular churchgoer and a shining example for the younger generation. Remember those Ukrainian martyrs who suffered and died for the Christian faith during Soviet times? They were not politically correct either.

Nor should you be. Go against the flow. Do the right thing. Wish those you meet in the next few days a "Merry Christmas." No one will be offended. Trust me.

Myron Kuropas' e-mail address is: [email protected].

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