Study: Fewer Christians Concerned about Hearing ‘Happy Holidays’ Rather Than ‘Merry Christmas’
More Americans believe it doesn’t matter whether organizations and companies say, “Merry Christmas.”
In a new survey from the Pew Research Center, 52 percent of Americans say it doesn’t matter whether those places say “Merry Christmas” instead of “Happy Holidays.”
In 2005, that number was 45 percent.
Meanwhile, those who say they prefer “Merry Christmas” fell to 32 percent in 2017, down from 43 percent in 2005.
In another survey from Morning Consult, 76 percent of respondents said “Merry Christmas” was an OK greeting, while 7 percent called it inappropriate. Another 17 percent said they weren’t sure.
In comparison, 71 percent of adults said “Happy Holidays” was a good greeting, while 13 percent said it was inappropriate.
Among evangelicals, 67 percent said the non-religious greeting was fine, while 20 percent called it inappropriate.
Also in the Pew Research Center study, more evangelicals (65 percent) said they would be more likely to shop at a store if employees say, “Merry Christmas.”
Just 3 percent said they would be less likely to shop there and 27 percent said they had no preference.
The survey also found that using “Happy Holidays” would deter about 22 percent of evangelicals. Thirty four percent of respondents said they would shop there and 36 percent said greetings made no difference in their choice to shop at the store.
White evangelicals (84 percent) also said in the survey that Christmas was “more religious than cultural.” In 2013, that number was 82 percent.
Photo courtesy: Unsplash/Tim Mossholder
Publication date: December 14, 2017
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