Colonial Sabbath Day Practices

Attending Church on Sunday was Mandatory and Subject to Penalties

Sep 29, 2009

Although colonial America exhibited a diversity of religious beliefs, Sabbath day expectations were universal and formed traditional practices still evident today.

During the highly charged presidential election of 1828, supporters of Andrew Jackson labeled John Quincy Adams a “Sabbath breaker.” Keeping the Sabbath was part of religious tradition and expectations since the founding of the colonies and would not change until Irish and German immigration redefined the role of Sunday in American culture. So important was Sunday church attendance that, in the earliest days of the Virginia colony, a newly arrived governor, Sir Thomas Dale, called for repeated church absences to be subject to capital punishment. Keeping the Sabbath in colonial America was a key feature of religious practice, regardless of the particular denomination enforcing the rule.

Early Sabbath Practices

In Puritan New England, the Sabbath began Saturday evening. The earliest places of worship were homes or crudely constructed meeting houses. Even as these primitive churches were rebuilt in later years, Calvinist New England frowned upon church adornment, unlike the Anglican Churches in the Virginia colony.

The Old North Church in Boston, famously identified with the midnight ride of Paul Revere, is an example of how colonial churches came to identify Sabbath worship with social classes. Rather than pews set in rows, the church contained rectangular boxes, each one the private domain of families that had paid for the seating.

The same held true in Virginia churches. Families, including servants and slaves, filled these private boxes, bringing blankets and foot warmers in colder months. In New England, it was not uncommon for sermons to last several hours and required church attendance extended to afternoon services. Commenting on the social configuration of church seating, Henry Wiencek writes that “In Washington’s Virginia, family determined one’s place and one’s identity, even in relation to the Creator.”

In 1954 Great Britain’s Queen Mother visited the Bruton Parish Church in Colonial Williamsburg. According to historian Richard Fried, when asked if she wished to join in prayer in the pew once used by royal governors, she asked if George Washington had owned a pew and replied, “I would prefer to kneel there.” Pews were sold well into the 19th century.

Religion professor Ronald White relates that when President Lincoln arrived in Washington in 1861, the First Presbyterian Church offered the new president a pew without charging the customary rental fee. Lincoln, however, declined, attending instead the New York Avenue Presbyterian Church paying $50 a year for a pew.

The Penalties of Sabbath Breaking or Service Disturbances

Although Governor Dale’s suggestion of capital offense was never acted upon, penalties for neglecting Sabbath services were severe. In Virginia, offenders were usually fined, the proceeds going to the churches charged with financial support of orphans and widows. Repeated offenses invited public flogging or the pillory.

Parishioners were summoned on the Sabbath by the ringing of bells, beating of drums, or the sound of a trumpet. Lay church leaders scoured the communities, making sure everyone that wasn’t sick was at church. In Virginia, for example, it didn’t matter whether a person was a member of the Church of England. Attendance was still required.

The Sabbath also banned any activities considered profane, such as hunting, sporting, dancing, or doing non-essential work. The Sabbath was “the Lord’s Day,” and any activity that was deemed inappropriate was an offense against God. In New England and Dutch New Amsterdam, also a Calvinist community, these rules were far more stringent and more rigidly enforced.

Modern Vestiges of the Sabbath Laws

Many states still retain elements of Sunday prohibitions traced to Sabbath practices that are often called “blue laws.” In some states, no alcoholic beverages may be purchased on Sunday and liquor stores are closed.

Fundamentalist denominations still promote a “Lord’s Day” free of work and devoted to family worship and fellowship. As long as personal religion is important to Americans, these considerations will be honored and kept.

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The copyright of the article Colonial Sabbath Day Practices in Colonial America is owned by Michael Streich. Permission to republish Colonial Sabbath Day Practices in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.