Santa makes his entrance at the Children with Cancer Christmas Foundation Christmas party in Provo. Wednesday, Dec., 12, 2012
Scott G Winterton, Deseret News
Our take: Does believing in Santa detract children from the true meaning of Christmas? Christianity Today asked a few faith and family leaders if encouraging children to believe in Santa is a good thing or not. Here are some of the responses:
"The key word is belief. Emulating Saint Nick is awesome, but I have problems with parents duping their children into believing that Santa exists. A church could acknowledge in a family context the historical person of St. Nicholas. But the figure the culture has created does not belong in church."
Scottie May, professor, Wheaton College
"The true meaning of Christmas is sacred. No matter their choices, when it comes to Santa and other traditions, families should make it their main goal to tie every practice to the true meaning of Christmas."
Leon Wirth, executive director of parenting and youth, Focus on the Family
Read more about Should churches discourage belief in Santa Claus? on Christianity Today .
DeseretNews.com encourages a civil dialogue among its readers. We welcome your thoughtful comments.
— About comments
Matt writes about faith how it is lived, how it intersects with society and how current trends affect religious practice. He returned to reporting and writing after more than 12 years as an editor, most recently a more ..
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It's an interesting thought. As a race, we pick and choose what we believe in. Those that grow up in China likely do not believe in Jesus; do parents in China have a delima over whether their children should believe in Santa Claus? Likely they More..