Sunday Commerce a Growing Trend
For better or worse?
April 16, 2001

The song “Easy Like Sunday Morning” once had a meaning. Sundays were once a day set aside for rest and recreation.

Store parking lots were nearly empty. The streets were clear, with the exception of traffic of the faithful commuting to and from church services.

A popular term, “Sunday driver,” described a vehicle poking along several miles below the speed limit, obviously in no hurry to get anywhere.

Today, like a banner proclaiming the victory of convenience over reverence, the phrase "Open Sunday" is painted in bold, red letters along the side of a bustling mini mall.

Tire shops, pet stores and even mattress dealers have joined restaurants and grocery stores in offering Sunday business hours.

Not too long ago, one would have trouble finding places open on the first day of the week. Today, institutions of all kinds are responding to the lure of Sunday shopper buying power.

It was once illegal for certain businesses to be open on Sunday, according to the Blue Laws. While most states retain portions of Blue Laws or Sunday Closing Laws, they are largely ignored and rarely enforced.

Sunday closing laws can be traced as far back as A.D.321. The Roman Emperor Constantine wished that all his subjects would rest on the Christian Lord’s Day, so he established the first Sunday Law.

It was the opinion of Church leaders of the time to observe Sunday as the new Sabbath day. In the Ten Commandments, it was written no man should work on the Sabbath (Saturday). They believed since Jesus Christ rose on Sunday, Pentecost occurred on Sunday, and the Apostles met to worship on Sunday, that God moved the Sabbath to Sunday.

Other predominately Christian nations after the fall of the Roman Empire continued Sunday laws in force if not only in practice.

Centuries later in the 1600s, British colonists in America wrote their own set of Sunday Laws, based upon similar and longstanding English restrictions.

In Connecticut 1650, some of the most stringent Sunday Laws ever extended into voting rights—It required church membership in order to have citizenship. They also forbade citizens of the domain to offer food or lodging to “heretics,” or those who were not members of a state-approved church.

Also, in pre-revolution Connecticut, nobody was allowed to cross a river on Sunday accept for an ordained minister. No one was allowed to cook, travel, make beds, sweep houses, cut hair, or even shave on the Sabbath.

In further observance of the state’s version of a Sabbath rest, no colonist was allowed to eat mince pies, dance or play cards. Other such diversions were allowed, however. Also, no one was to play a musical instrument, with the exception of the drum, trumpet or mouth harp.

A man who hit his wife on a Connecticut Sunday would be fined 10 pounds for the transgression. A wife who strikes her husband, however, would be punished under other laws that outlawed women attacking men.

After America gained her Independence from Great Britain, each new state adopted a set of Sunday Closing Laws. They became known as “Blue Laws” because of the blue paper they were printed on.

While these new laws did not force anyone to adhere to the Christian faith, they did set up a system that reduced Sunday labor.

In 1951, the Supreme Court ruled on Blue Laws in the case People v. Friedman. The highest court in the land decided Blue Laws did not interfere with religious liberty as outlined in the First Amendment.

The Supreme Court refused to hear challenges to Sunday closing laws in 1979, on the grounds that any such law must be changed through individual state legislatures and not by federal rule.

Texas had a series of “Blue Laws” prior to 1985. The legislature amended these cumbersome laws, and ruled many of the specific provisions as “archaic.” In the Texas Blue Laws, enacted in 1863, shoppers could buy milk but not a hammer; chicken, but not duct tape. Grocery stores were allowed to remain open on Sunday for necessity’s sake, but non-food aisles such as hardware were roped off.

The Legislature eliminated most sections of the Blue Laws. However, some sections remained intact. For example, car dealerships are still not allowed to be open on both Saturday and Sunday.

CarMax, a national used car sales corporation, currently disregards Texas law by being open on both days. Several competitors have cried foul and sought legal action. On the other hand, neither the police nor the Legislature have challenged CarMax’s decision to remain open on both days. However, CarMax is trying to to convince the Legislature to repeal the laws that forbid them from selling cars on a Sunday.

DeVry Institute of Technology in Irving boasts accelerated weekend class times on their daytime television commercials. A calendar on the commercial has “Weekend Class” written in blue ink over the Saturday and Sunday squares.

Mark Cahoone, a DeVry student, said his class met on Easter Sunday this year. While Cahoone is an atheist, he said holidays are important for rest and family togetherness.

“We have to get our work done, but Easter should be a time to be with family and not class or work,” he said.

Many businesses and institutions are closed on Sunday, whether by tradition or to give employees a rest. But there are only a handful of corporations that stand against Sunday labor.

Hobby Lobby, a nationwide arts and craft store corporation, forbids its stores from opening on Sundays. They said it is in conjunction with part of their statement of purpose that said its board of directors is “commited to honoring the Lord in all we do by operating the company in a manner consistent with Biblical principles.”

And according to David Green, president and founder of Hobby Lobby, that means remaining closed on the Lord’s Day.

Chick-fil-A, a national fast food chain, posts a sign in the entrance of each franchise explaining why the doors are locked on Sunday.

Although Sunday is the busiest and most profitable day of the week, Chick-fil-A continues to earn a profit, maintaining one of the highest food cost/sales ratios in the fast food industry. Also, Chick-fil-A store owner-operators have a retention rate of 94 percent during the last 11 years.

“Sundays are a day to rest,” said Jimmy Collins, Chick-fil-A president. “Our founder Truett Cathy wanted to ensure that all Chick-fil-A employees and operators would have the opportunity to worship, spend time with family and to rest each week.”

Many workers prefer filling Sunday shifts because of the slow pace and high sales rates.

LaTasha Sutton, a sales clerk at the Denton Target, said she prefers to work Sundays to other days.

“Sundays are my groove,” she said. “Me and my co-workers just play around and have fun in the morning when there’s no customers, and we’re only crazy and busy for a few hours in the afternoon.”

With more and more businesses announcing Sunday hours, the first day of the week is becoming yet another business day. It seems as if Sunday labor is here to stay, but not without opposition.

A Georgia-based organization, The Lord’s Day Alliance, works to encourage churches and businesses to reserve Sunday for rest and worship. The group originated 113 years ago

Tim Norton, director of The Lord’s Day Alliance, said it is not the business of his organization to legislate what they see as a spiritual principle.

“We do support laws that are in place and are working according to the will of local communities,” he said. “Our focus, though, is on encouraging people of faith to set aside a day for personal rest and spiritual renewal.”

The Lord’s Day Alliance Web site can be viewed at www.ldausa.org

A Web site advocating the removal of South Carolina Blue Laws can be viewed at www.nobluelaws.com