There is a reluctance to observe major Christian holidays such as Easter and Christmas in order not to offend non-christians.

I doubt very much if that actually has anything to do with that kind of thing. In a column in today's Guardian Alexander Chancellor comes to the same conclusion:

"If, as recent surveys have shown, an overwhelming majority of British families would like schools to put on a traditional nativity play at Christmas, why is it that only one in five schools are doing it this year?

"The usual reason given by schools for not doing it is that they fear offending people of non-Christian faiths. But these are still a very small minority. And furthermore, the vast majority of them would take no offence. Why should they? Can one imagine settling in a Muslim country and kicking up a fuss over it celebrating the end of Ramadan? Except in a handful of schools, where most of the pupils are Muslim, the excuse is clearly phoney. There has to be another explanation, and this can only be squeamishness on the part of the teachers themselves.

"What makes them so resistant to putting on a nativity play? They could argue rightly - though they don't - that only a tiny percentage of the population goes to church any more. But even that wouldn't be much of an argument because more than 70% of adult Britons still identify themselves as Christian, whether they actually believe in anything or not.And this must mean that they feel attached to a cultural tradition that includes things such as church weddings and funerals, Christmas carols and nativity plays.

"My presumption is that too many teachers are hostile to Christianity not so much for what it teaches as for what it stands for - namely, an outdated culture that knows nothing of 'multiculturalism' or 'relevance' or any of the other things that excite them."

It seems to me that when people with another agenda use imagined objections by religious minorities as a way of justifying this kind of thing they are in fact potentially generating antagonism against members of these minorities. It is a very irresponsible thing to do.