Sabbath desecration is the failure to observe the

Biblical Sabbath The Sabbath is a weekly day of rest or time of worship given in the Bible as the seventh day. It is observed differently in Judaism and Christianity and informs a similar occasion in several other faiths. Observation and remembrance of Sabbath ...

and is usually considered a

sin In religious context, sin is a transgression against divine law or a law of the deities. Each culture has its own interpretation of what it means to commit a sin. While sins are generally considered actions, any thought, word, or act considered ...

and a breach of a

holy Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects (a ...

day in relation to either the Jewish ''

Shabbat Shabbat (, , or ; , , ) or the Sabbath (), also called Shabbos (, ) by Ashkenazi Hebrew, Ashkenazim, is Judaism's day of rest on the seventh day of the seven-day week, week—i.e., Friday prayer, Friday–Saturday. On this day, religious Jews ...

'' (Friday sunset to Saturday nightfall), the Sabbath in seventh-day churches, or to the

Lord's Day In Christianity, the Lord's Day refers to Sunday, the traditional day of communal worship. It is the first day of the week in the Hebrew calendar and traditional Christian calendars. It is observed by most Christians as the weekly memorial of the ...

(Sunday), which is recognized as the Christian Sabbath in

first-day Sabbatarian Sabbatarianism advocates the observation of the Sabbath in Christianity, in keeping with the Ten Commandments. The observance of Sunday as a day of worship and rest is a form of first-day Sabbatarianism, a view which was historically heralded ...

denominations.

Judaism

According to

Mosaic Law The Law of Moses ( ), also called the Mosaic Law, is the law said to have been revealed to Moses by God. The term primarily refers to the Torah or the first five books of the Hebrew Bible. Terminology The Law of Moses or Torah of Moses (Hebr ...

, to desecrate ''shabbat'' intentionally, despite warning, is a capital offense ( Exodus 31:14). All work was prohibited during ''shabbat'', even minor tasks, such as "gathering wood" (

Numbers A number is a mathematical object used to count, measure, and label. The most basic examples are the natural numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, and so forth. Numbers can be represented in language with number words. More universally, individual numbers can ...

15:32-36). Since the decline of classical ''

semicha ''Semikhah'' () is the traditional term for rabbiinic ordination in Judaism. The original ''semikhah'' was the formal "transmission of authority" from Moses through the generations. This form of ''semikhah'' ceased between 360 and 425 CE. Si ...

'' (rabbinic

ordination Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...

) in the 4th century C.E., the traditional Jewish view is that Jewish courts have lost the power to rule on criminal cases. As such, it would be practically impossible for Orthodox courts to enforce the death penalty in modern times, even if they had the political standing to do so.

Talmud The Talmud (; ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of Haskalah#Effects, modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cen ...

ic protections for defendants make execution very difficult even by the Great Sanhedrin, e.g., requiring two competent witnesses to the ''shabbat'' violation and an official court warning prior to the violation. Some

Reform Reform refers to the improvement or amendment of what is wrong, corrupt, unsatisfactory, etc. The modern usage of the word emerged in the late 18th century and is believed to have originated from Christopher Wyvill's Association movement, which ...

and

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

rabbis condemn capital punishment generally, partly based on this stringency. There are 39 categories of activity prohibited on Shabbat, derived in the tractate

Shabbat (Talmud) Shabbat (, lit. "Sabbath") is the first tractate of '' Seder Moed'' ("Order of Appointed Times") of the Mishnah and of the Talmud. The tractate deals with the laws and practices regarding observing the Jewish Sabbath (''Shabbat'' in Hebrew). Th ...

from the construction of the Biblical

tabernacle According to the Hebrew Bible, the tabernacle (), also known as the Tent of the Congregation (, also Tent of Meeting), was the portable earthly dwelling of God used by the Israelites from the Exodus until the conquest of Canaan. Moses was instru ...

. ''

Halakha ''Halakha'' ( ; , ), also Romanization of Hebrew, transliterated as ''halacha'', ''halakhah'', and ''halocho'' ( ), is the collective body of Judaism, Jewish religious laws that are derived from the Torah, Written and Oral Torah. ''Halakha'' is ...

'' (Jewish law) derives many further forbidden acts from these categories (''toledoth'' and ''shevuth''), with varying severity, that may not be performed except for preventing severe illness or death. Unwarranted violation of any of these precepts is termed ''chillul shabbat'' ("profanation of ''shabbat''"). People who consistently violate ''shabbat'' today are generally not considered reliable in certain matters of Jewish law.

Christianity

Congregationalists Congregationalism (also Congregational Churches or Congregationalist Churches) is a Reformed Christian (Calvinist) tradition of Protestant Christianity in which churches practice congregational government. Each congregation independently a ...

Presbyterians Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...

, Methodists, and

Baptists Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...

, as well as many Episcopalians, have historically espoused the view of first-day Sabbatarianism, which teaches that the

(Sunday) is the Christian Sabbath, in keeping with the understanding that the moral law contained in the Ten Commandments stands eternally. In contrast, Seventh-day Sabbatarians believe that the Sabbath should be observed on Saturday, holding that it was not transferred from Saturday to Sunday. Other Christians do not observe the Sabbath or apply it to a "day of rest", believing that it is a part of the

that has no application to Christians.

Traditional application to Sunday

The traditional application of the Christian Sabbath to Sunday is based on the claim that the Sabbath was moved to the Lord's Day, the day that Jesus rose from the dead. First-day Sabbatarian (Sunday Sabbatarian) practices include attending morning and evening church services on Sundays, receiving

catechesis Catechesis (; from Greek: , "instruction by word of mouth", generally "instruction") is basic Christian religious education of children and adults, often from a catechism book. It started as education of converts to Christianity, but as the ...

Sunday School ] A Sunday school, sometimes known as a Sabbath school, is an educational institution, usually Christianity, Christian in character and intended for children or neophytes. Sunday school classes usually precede a Sunday church service and are u ...

on the Lord's Day, taking the Lord's Day off from servile labour, not eating at restaurants on Sundays, not Sunday shopping, not using public transportation on the Lord's Day, not participating in sporting events that are held on Sundays, as well as not viewing television and the internet on Sundays; Christians who are Sunday Sabbatarians often engage in

works of mercy Works of mercy (sometimes known as acts of mercy) are practices considered meritorious in Christian ethics. The practice is popular in the Catholic Church as an act of both penance and charity. In addition, the Methodist church teaches that th ...

on the Lord's Day, such as

evangelism Evangelism, or witnessing, is the act of sharing the Christian gospel, the message and teachings of Jesus Christ. It is typically done with the intention of converting others to Christianity. Evangelism can take several forms, such as persona ...

, as well as visiting prisoners at jails and the sick at hospitals and nursing homes. The

Westminster Confession The Westminster Confession of Faith, or simply the Westminster Confession, is a Reformed confession of faith. Drawn up by the 1646 Westminster Assembly as part of the Westminster Standards to be a confession of the Church of England, it beca ...

, held by

Presbyterian Church Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Christianity, Reformed Protestantism, Protestant tradition named for its form of ecclesiastical polity, church government by representative assemblies of Presbyterian polity#Elder, elders, known as ...

es, teaches first-day Sabbatarianism:

As it is the law of nature, that, in general, a due proportion of time be set apart for the worship of God; so, in His Word, by a positive, moral, and perpetual commandment binding all men in all ages, He has particularly appointed one day in seven, for a Sabbath, to be kept holy unto him (Ex. 20:8, 20:10-11, Is. 56:2, 56:4, 56:6-7): which, from the beginning of the world to the resurrection of Christ, was the last day of the week: and, from the resurrection of Christ, was changed into the first day of the week (Ge. 2:2-3, 1 Cor. 16:1-2, Ac. 20:7), which, in Scripture, is called the Lord's Day (Rev. 1:10), and is to be continued to the end of the world, as the Christian Sabbath (Ex. 20:8, 20:10, Mt. 5:17). This Sabbath is to be kept holy unto the Lord when men, after a due preparing of their hearts, and ordering of their common affairs beforehand, do not only observe an holy rest all the day from their own works, words, and thoughts about their worldly employments and recreations (Ex. 20:8, 16:23, 16:25-26, 16:29-30, 31:15-17, Is. 58:13, Neh. 13:15-19, 13:21-22), but also are taken up the whole time in the public and private exercises of His worship, and in the duties of necessity and mercy (Is. 58:13).

This statement was adopted by the Congregationalist Churches, which are descended from the Puritans, in their Savoy Declaration. The 1689 Baptist Confession of Faith of the

Reformed Baptists Reformed Baptists, also called Particular Baptists, or Calvinist Baptists, are Baptists that hold to a Calvinism, Calvinist soteriology (salvation belief teached by John Calvin). The name "Reformed Baptist" dates from the latter part of the 20 ...

advances the same first-day Sabbatarian obligation of the Presbyterian's Westminster Confession and the Puritan Congregationalists' Savoy Declaration. The General Rules of the Methodist Church similarly require "attending upon all the ordinances of God" including "the public worship of God" and prohibit "profaning the day of the Lord, either by doing ordinary work therein or by buying or selling".

Blue laws

The law in

North Dakota North Dakota ( ) is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the indigenous Dakota people, Dakota and Sioux peoples. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north and by the U.S. states of Minneso ...

at one time stated: "The fine for Sabbath-breaking is not less than one dollar or more than ten dollars for each offence." Other

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a science and as the ar ...

s have been passed against Sabbath breaking, e.g., by the

Puritan The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to rid the Church of England of what they considered to be Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should b ...

s. First-day Sabbatarian organizations, such as the Lord's Day Alliance in North America, as well as the Lord's Day Observance Society in the British Isles, have mounted campaigns with support in both Canada and Britain from labour unions, with the goal of preventing secular and commercial interests from hampering freedom of worship and preventing them from exploiting workers.

Seventh-day churches, application to Saturday

Fundamental Belief # 20 of the

Seventh-day Adventist Church The Seventh-day Adventist Church (SDA) is an Adventist Protestant Christian denomination which is distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the seventh day of the week in the Christian (Gregorian) and the Hebrew calendar, as the Sa ...

states...

References