Like Christmas, Easter is a religious holiday with great significance to Christians, but also with some importance to secular Americans. As a result, there is an annual clash between those who observe the holy day in honor of Christ’s resurrection and those who believe that it stands for a generic message of “hope” or “joy,” or mere candy, eggs, and bunnies.
SEE ALSO: Col. John Eidsmoe: Christmas wars 2023 – who won?
Predictably, this conflict was resurrected last weekend when President Biden issued two Executive Proclamations for March 31st. One short proclamation recognized Easter Sunday, while the much longer one recognized a “Transgender Day of Visibility.”
In response, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson said the conduct of the Biden administration surrounding Easter was “outrageous and abhorrent.” Former 2024 presidential candidate Tim Scott said that Biden “insulted Christians everywhere.” Trump’s campaign press secretary said Biden was “blasphemous,” and called for an apology to Christians across America.
On first glance, Biden’s conflicting proclamations seem absurd. How could a nation celebrate Easter (the sacrifice of Jesus that implores us to give up our lives for God’s will) and transgenderism (the belief that personal choice rules above all else) at the same time?
While this is certainly offensive to Christians, it is worth noting that Biden did not create Transgender Day, deliberately placing it on Easter Sunday as some have claimed. In fact, I would argue that the situation is worse.
On March 31st, 2009, the director of “Transgender Michigan” organized the first “Transgender Day of Visibility.” Over time, this has become an internationally recognized anniversary. Since 2021, President Biden has issued a proclamation every year on March 31st declaring it “Transgender Day of Visibility.”
This year, Easter Sunday (celebrated on the first Sunday after the full moon after the spring equinox) also fell on March 31st. Thus, Biden made proclamations regarding both Easter and Transgender Day of Visibility. But he also declared 11 other holidays for last Sunday, “including Cesar Chavez Day and Arab American Heritage Month.”
So, the timing of this year’s proclamations was likely not intended to be a statement attacking the Easter holiday. But to me, the reality is worse. Apparently, transgender ideology is so respected by our culture that national recognition of it can be slipped in among our celebration of such fundamental truths as Christ’s resurrection.
Compare the White House’s observances to those in Alabama. Gov. Kay Ivey cited Matthew 28:5-6 in her Easter Message this year, centering on the sacrificial love of our Savior. However, transgender ideology has still infiltrated our state. For example, there is an upcoming “family-friendly” pride event in Prattville that welcomes children. Our local communities are where the enemy is gaining the most ground.
A second controversy arising out of the Biden administration’s Easter 2024 celebration is a prohibition on the use of “religious symbols” at the annual White House Easter Egg Roll.
Throughout Easter weekend and until Passover, the White House’s East Colonnade will be decorated with a “Colonnade of Eggs” painted by professional egg artists based on designs submitted by children of National Guard members. Only the best designs won the contest and were selected for display.
The flyer circulated by the Adjutants General of the National Guard inviting children to submit designs stated, among other restrictions, that they “must not include any questionable content, religious symbols, overtly religious themes, or partisan political statements” [emphasis added].
Thus, amazingly, the image of the cross was banned from adorning the Biden administration’s Easter celebration. As would later be explained, this came from a misapplication of the First Amendment, which was designed to protect religious expression, not ban it. Here is how it happened:
The American Egg Board (AEB) coordinated the supply of 64,000 eggs for the event last weekend, including the egg hunt, egg roll, food, and other activities. The AEB is a checkoff organization created by Congress dedicated to the marketing and promotion of eggs for human consumption in America. It has “been a supporter of the White House Easter Egg Roll for over 45 years.”
According to its director, the AEB “must follow federal guidelines,” including one that prohibits it from being favorable to a religion, and thus, it had to prohibit all religious expression in its art exhibit. The director said that “the nondiscrimination policy that limits certain content regarding the art contest’s themes is long-standing” and has been “consistently applied to the board since its founding, across administrations.”
This was an unconstitutional approach. Attempting to comply with the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment and avoid “being favorable to a religion,” the AEB ignored the Free Exercise Clause, which entitles Americans to unencumbered religious expression. Both clauses must work together.
The Constitution required the AEB to allow all religious expression in design submissions, not to prohibit any religious expression at all. Had it allowed religious expression, the AEB would have only gotten into trouble if it favored one of the religious symbols over another (without some other justification, like the skill of the art). The AEB clearly thought, like many state actors have in the past, that it had found a shortcut to respecting the Constitution. In the end, it prohibited the young contestants from celebrating Easter with art of the cross, the central image of Resurrection Day.
Although there are harmful and perverse ideas alive in our nation, and governmental authorities who would take an easy way out instead of honoring the Constitution, it is still a tremendous blessing that our government, particularly that of Alabama, can recognize and celebrate Easter. May we continue to freely praise the Risen King and trust Him with our future.
Katrinnah Darden is a Constitutional Attorney located in Montgomery, Alabama. To contact her, email katrinnahh@gmail.com.
The views and opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the policy or position of 1819 News. To comment, please send an email with your name and contact information to Commentary@1819News.com.
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