Of course, for many conservatives, this controversy is not just about Christmas; it's a way to talk about a whole float of issues. Bill O'Reilly warned viewers that store clerks no longer saying "Merry Christmas" foretold the imminence of "a brave new progressive world" where gay marriage, partial birth abortion and legalized drugs run rampant. (来源：http://www.EnglishCN.com)

"Some people see this as a marvelous opportunity to heat up the culture war," said Charles Haynes, a senior scholar at the Freedom Forum's First Amendment Center, and the author of its guide outlining acceptable mentions of religion at Christmas. "It's an opportunity to trigger deeper emotion and frustration that are not really about Merry Christmas, but about what kind of country we are."

The Alliance Defense Fund's "Christmas Project" radio ads demonize the American Civil Liberties Union, insisting "It's O.K. to Say Merry Christmas." (The A.C.L.U. says it never said it wasn't.) Rightmarch.com is urging those angry about what it calls the attack on Christmas to send money to "help us spread the word of conservative activism from sea to shining sea."

Conservative leaders everywhere trade tales of outrage: Candy canes banned! A school won't allow red and green napkins!

Many of these stories are more legend than truth. The A.C.L.U. defended the child in Massachusetts who wanted to distribute candy canes with a religious message. And what about that school in Kirkland, Wash., where a performance of "A Christmas Carol" was canceled because of Tiny Tim's line, "God Bless Us, Everyone"? Well, the superintendent said the performance was canceled because the group wanted to charge admission, against school policy.

But no matter. As a radio ad for the Alliance Defense Fund warns, "If we don't do something, they're going to steamroll us parents and get rid of Christmas like it never happened." School boards report that parents are pre-emptively filing complaints, only to discover that school policy does allow religious music or Christmas cards.

In the meantime, some efforts at inclusiveness flounder. In Wichita, some Jews complained that the "Community Tree" lighting was held on the first night of Hanukkah.

The plea from many is for both sides to relax a bit. As Mr. Haynes, at the Freedom Forum, said: "Sensitivity is not hostility to Christianity on the one hand. And on the other, Christmas is not always oppression."

But as the nation becomes more religiously diverse, it is also becoming more religiously divided, and some say neutrality may not be possible.

"Our constitutional system is to leave the government neutral and leave it to families and churches and synagogues," Professor Laycock said. But, he said, that can be hard in a society with many different faiths or no faith at all.

"All sides want the government on their side," he said. "They don't really want the government to be neutral."