Baptists
and Halloween
Since there seems to be no single authority for the Baptist
sect, receiving a definitive answer about the churches view
on Halloween is
difficult and often subjective. Some churches affiliate with
organizational groups such as the Southern Baptist
Convention, while others remain autonomous and independent
of any denomination, organization, or specific association.
While some Baptists celebrate Halloween,
many
do not. On an individual basis, Baptist Christians seem to
either love or hate the holiday. Many Baptist pastors are very much
against Halloween, claiming that it has Satanic origins, but not all of them
believe this. Josh Teis is the
lead pastor at
Southern Hills Baptist Church in Las Vegas, who has an open and wonderful
view of celebrating Halloween and the traditions that
accompany it.
Catholics
and Halloween
The Catholic Church via
the Vatican takes a negative view
of Halloween and the celebrations that surround it. On October 30th 2009, Pope Benedict XVI spoke out against Halloween as a 'dangerous' and
'anti-Christian' festival. While the
Vatican may have spoken, most American Catholics tend to see
Halloween as a secular holiday filled with harmless fun.
The
article "Don't
be scared of Halloween: Readers share frightful memories"
Angelo Stagnaro, demonstrates that Halloween is alive and
well here in the United States and often embraced
whole-heartedly by Catholics. To my knowledge, the current Pope Francis
has not spoken about Halloween either way. While I'm not Catholic, I do
remember going to a Catholic church in the mid seventies that held a charity
haunted house and it was great!
Hindu
and Halloween
Some American Hindus abstain from Halloween, while others
embrace it as a light-hearted celebration of fun filled with
costumes, Jack O' Lanterns and trick or treats. But there
can be some conflicts.
The Hindu holiday of Diwali (also
known as the "festival of lights" or the Hindu New Year)
sometimes falls at the end of October competing with
Halloween, and treats have to be checked to keep with dietary
choices of the Hindu practice.
Here is an interesting
article by American Hindu Ambaa from October 18, 2013.
Jehovah Witnesses and Halloween
Jehovah Witness do not celebrate Halloween, nor do they
observe other religious or secular holidays such as
birthdays, anniversaries, Thanksgiving, Christmas, etc., because they
believe that these are false religious beliefs and
activities. They believe that they must remain "separate
from the world" because it is a place of danger that is
ruled by Satan and that everyone and everything outside
their church is filled with moral contamination.
As
such, they must limit their social contact with
non-Jehovah Witnesses. Members are expected to
participate regularly in evangelizing and proselytizing
their religion by soliciting people, usually at their
homes and uninvited. I guess they don't celebrate Halloween
because they don't like it when people they don't know
show up knocking on their door...
Judaism and Halloween
From a traditional point of view, Orthodox Jews usually don't celebrate Halloween as they are not supposed to
celebrate non-Jewish holidays, however, many conservative
and reformed Jews do celebrate Halloween as a cultural
holiday, with the decision being left to the individual
family to make, usually being viewed no
different than Thanksgiving or Independence Day. One of my
best friends is Jewish and he and his family go all out
for Halloween every year.
Methodists
and Halloween
The
United Methodist Church does not
seem to have any official
statement or position regarding Halloween.
Church members are completely free to make their own decisions about
their participation in Halloween activities. Local churches
can decide if they wish to offer traditional or alternative
activities for children and families at this time of the
year. My mother
in-law, who is a Methodist, hosts her own Halloween
costume party every year!
Mormons
and Halloween
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has no
official opinion regarding Halloween. Individual
church members are able to decide for themselves whether or
not they want to celebrate Halloween and in what way.
The
majority of Mormons and all Mormons that we know celebrate
Halloween to some degree including decorating, carving
pumpkins, passing out treats, taking their children out to
trick or treat and hosting or going to Halloween costume
parties.
Muslims
and Halloween
Traditionally, Muslims do not approve of Halloween for its
followers in any way what's so ever because it's not one of the two main holidays
celebrated by Islam and also because of its historical ties to pagan
traditions. While some Muslim families do join in the
fun, it seems that it is extremely rare.
Native
Americans and Halloween
Most Native American beliefs don't seem to get caught up in
the "It could be evil" fervor that some other belief systems do, in
fact, most
Native American's
and their families see Halloween as just a fun time of
the year.
Nature
Based - Pagan and Halloween
Using the term "Pagan" is subjective as there are so
many different beliefs that fall into this
category. Many follow the ancient
Celtic calendar where Halloween has its roots in the sacred
festival of Samhain,
particularly by modern day Witches and Wiccans (yes,
there is a difference).
Today, it is considered not only a religious holy day, but a
cultural holiday as well.
Protestants
and Halloween
Mainline Protestants tend to take a much softer line on
Halloween, with many churches embracing it. Wayne Walters,
pastor at the
First United Methodist Church in Burbank,
California, says that many non-religious traditions associated
with Christian holidays, including Santa Claus and the
Easter Bunny, hardly mean those holidays are non-Christian.
“Halloween for me is a time to have fun, “I remember growing up - on Halloween I
went trick-or-treating. I was in it for the candy.”
“And at Christmas I put out cookies and milk for Santa
Claus, who always took time to sit down and enjoy them,” he
continued. “None of those I think had a negative influence,
destroyed or diminished my faith, he said.”
Seventh Day Adventists and Halloween
The Seventh-day Adventist Church does not celebrate
Halloween, Christmas or Easter due to there
pre-Christian pagan roots and their because they believe
that Halloween has occult and demonic connections. Since
Halloween has no roots in their scripture, they
generally do not participate. The Seventh Day Adventist
church teaches their version of the history of Halloween
and advise their congregations not to be involved with
it.
