A Hard Look At People v. Friedman

The Supreme Court decision in the People v. Friedman case demonstrates the sentiment of the Court today. Sunday closing laws are upheld in the vast majority of cases. While they present a hardship to seventh-day Sabbath-keepers, they are viewed as "right, reasonable, and fair." It is denied that any religious connection whatsoever is attached to them, yet history shows the roots of Sunday closing laws. We must examine and question the intent and logic of these Supreme Court decisions. If one day must be enforced as a closing day (and we deny even that basic premise), why isn't the day Monday or Tuesday? Why is the day that is enforced the very one that does have its roots in the establishment of religious intolerance? If an enforceable closing day must be chosen, let the State pick one which does no disservice to any religious group. And, if such a day cannot be found, let the State admit the truth of the matter: the State has no right to restrict either business or person as they seek to provide for their basic needs. What right has the State to demand that everyone MUST have one day a week off? The effort to provide fair and reasonable working hours for laborers can be accomplished by other means than setting aside one day as a "closing day." In fact, businesses could remain open seven days a week, if they felt it necessary, and still provide every employee one day a week off by simply having rotating schedules. But this will not be done. And it will not be done because of the religious roots of the Sabbath/Sunday issue.

Most employees WANT Sunday off. Not only is this traditional, many of them do want to worship God on Sunday. Yet, Sabbath-keepers demand Saturday off. You see, this boils down to a religious issue. Because the State insists that businesses provide their employees at least one day off each week, and because most employees want Sunday off, the day chosen as the closing day is Sunday. It is a religious issue for these three reasons: 1) Sunday closing has its roots in religious tradition from hundreds of years ago; 2) Most employees want Sunday off, both because of the traditional implementation of the "weekend," and because of the religious significance of Sunday to Christians; 3) Sunday closing submits Sabbath-keepers to extreme and unnecessary hardship; they are left with only five days out of the week for business and labor.

If the State is indeed interested in "fairness", and if a closing day must actually be established, there are two alternate methods that would work and would infringe upon no religious rights: 1) Close shop on a "benign" day of the week, like Thursday; 2) Have two days to close shop, Saturday for Sabbath-keepers, and Sunday for Sunday keepers. This second idea is best because it is still quite enforceable, while at the same time allows business to function throughout the week for those who have no strong religious convictions. Those who don't care about either Saturday or Sunday may buy and sell throughout the week, while those with a preference can choose the day they wish to hold sacred. Really, a third idea is best: have the State keep out of the closing issue altogether. There are other better ways to ensure fair working hours than to arbitrarily shut down all business on one day each week.