COMMENTARY: Labor Day and the unions’ forgotten religious roots [View all]

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Adon Taft | Aug 29, 2013

(RNS) Of the 10 holidays recognized by the federal government, the future status of two – Labor Day and Christmas – may be short-lived. And, perhaps surprisingly, for the same reason: religion.

Already, officials in many school districts and municipalities have decided references to Christmas are politically incorrect, deeming them offensive to non-Christians or those of no religion at all. Often, the complaints come not from the average believer but from fanatics or those who resent any ideas different from their own, whether they be religious, political, moral or otherwise.

In the case of Labor Day, a holiday that originated in 1892 by the efforts of the New York chapter of the Noble Order of the Knights of Labor, this country’s first nationwide labor union, the reasons for the possible demise are less distinguishable.

Yet both holidays have something in common: Christmas has become secularized in an America where religious commitment is down and the number of the religiously unaffiliated is up. The labor movement, meanwhile, has forgotten the religious roots that propelled the movement that won a national holiday.

http://www.religionnews.com/2013/08/29/commentary-labor-day-and-the-unions-forgotten-religious-roots/