According to Genesis, God created everything in six days before resting on the seventh. But around a quarter of churchgoers say they don’t follow His example, according to a study released by LifeWay Research in December 2018.
Seven in 10 churchgoers take their Sabbath on Sunday. A few take it on Saturday (5 percent), Friday (1 percent) or Monday (1 percent). For 23 percent, there is no day of rest.
A 2015 LifeWay Research survey found 85 percent of pastors at evangelical and historically black churches say they unplug from their ministerial duties at least once a week.
More than half of Protestant churchgoers (56 percent) say taking a day of Sabbath rest each week is a biblical command that still applies today. A quarter disagree and 19 percent aren’t sure.
Biblical command
“Almost half of church attendees aren’t sure if one of the Ten Commandments still applies today,” McConnell said. “Perhaps the most important biblical teaching on the Sabbath came when Jesus said, ‘The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.’ Clearly God didn’t need the rest when he modeled it, but humans need to recharge regularly.”
Churchgoers in the South (58 percent) are more likely to see the biblical command of a Sabbath rest as applicable today than their counterparts in the Northeast (46 percent).
Baptist and nondenominational churchgoers (60 percent each) are more likely to say the Sabbath is still applicable than those at Assemblies of God/Pentecostal congregations (45 percent).
Going to church is the primary way most churchgoers say they observe a Sabbath.
Nearly 8 in 10 (79 percent) of those who observe a Sabbath say attending a religious service is part of their Sabbath-keeping.
Two-thirds (65 percent) say they do so by spending time with family.
Fewer say avoiding paid work (33 percent), taking a nap (30 percent) or avoiding labor or chores of any kind (25 percent) are part of how they observe a Sabbath day.
More variety
A small number say they avoid shopping (11 percent), refrain from attending paid events or entertainment (6 percent) or refrain from media of some kind, like TV, radio or social media (3 percent).
“There is more variety in how people observe the Sabbath than when they observe it,” McConnell said. “But there are far fewer people avoiding things on the Sabbath, like paid work and chores, than those who say they keep the Sabbath by doing things, like attending church and spending time with friends.” (BP)
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