day of rest
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It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Sabbath. (Discuss) |
A day of rest, often described as the Sabbath, is a weekly cessation from work, commonly observed (with varying definitions) among many of the world's religions, especially the Judeo-Christian faiths, but also used in various secular purposes.
Juedo-Christian Sabbath
In Christianity, the Sabbath is a weekly religious day of rest ordained by one of the Ten Commandments: the third commandment by Roman Catholic and Lutheran numbering, and the fourth by Eastern Orthodox and other Protestant numbering. The practice is inherited from Judaism, the parent religion of Christianity; the Hebrew word שַבָת ("šabbat" [1], read in English as shabbat) means "the [day] of rest (or ceasing)" and entails a ceasing or resting from labor. The institution of Shabbat in the Torah, a "perpetual covenant ... [for] the people of Israel" (Exodus 31:16-17), was in respect for the day during which God rested after having completed the Creation in six days (Genesis 2:2-3, Exodus 20:8-11).
Secular usage
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It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Blue law. (Discuss) |
In addition to its religious usage, the concept of a secular day of rest has been adduced as justification for retention of restrictions on commercial activity on Sunday.
The Supreme Court of the United States, in its 1961 landmark case McGowan v. Maryland, approved the state's blue law restricting commercial activities on Sunday, noting that the law serves "to provide a uniform day of rest for all citizens" on a secular basis and that its coinciding with the Christian Sabbath is not a bar to the state's secular goals.[1]
The borough of Paramus, New Jersey, one of the largest shopping meccas in the United States, retains a blue law that forbids all forms of "worldly employment" on Sunday. The borough's ordinance cites the belief that "The physical, intellectual and moral good of the community requires a periodic day of rest from labor" among its reasons for the imposition of the restrictions.[2]
References
- ^ McGOWAN v. MARYLAND, 366 U.S. 420 (1961), Supreme Court of the United States, Decided May 29, 1961. Accessed August 10, 2007. "The present purpose and effect of most of our Sunday Closing Laws is to provide a uniform day of rest for all citizens; and the fact that this day is Sunday, a day of particular significance for the dominant Christian sects, does not bar the State from achieving its secular goals."
- ^ Borough of Paramus, NJ - Chapter 391: SUNDAY ACTIVITIES § 391-1. Findings., Paramus, New Jersey. Accessed August 10, 2007.
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