THE NEW SCHAFF-HERZOG
After the Reformation German Protestantism
turned away from the Judaizing theory back to the
original conception of Sunday observ-
3. Post- ance. Luther's Larger Catechism Reformation taught that one day is not essentially
Conceptions better than another, but that, since it of Sunday, is not possible to devote each day in the week to a special religious celebration, one day should be set apart for that purpose and that, to avoid the unnecessary disturbance which an innovation would occasion, it should continue to be Sunday. The Augsburg Confession
(art. xxviii.) protests against the Sabbath substitution theory. However, there was not entire agreement among the early Protestants on this subject, there being a number who advocated literal adherence to the Sabbath law of the Old Testament. Others, on the contrary, held that Sunday was only a symbol of the resurrection and that no outward formal observance was required on that day. But the more commonly accepted view among Protestants sanctioned a moderately liberal observance of Sunday. Even the stringent Sunday regulations of Calvin were not the outgrowth of the substitution theory. Scotch and English Presbyterians returned to the idea that Sunday took the place of the Old- Testament Sabbath and that consequently no labor is to be permitted, the entire day being devoted to worship (Schaff, Creeds, i. 777-778). This doctrine found acceptance among Anglicans and had some following in Holland and Germany. However, opposition to the Puritan Sunday was present among both Anglicans and Presbyterians. In England the controversy was bitter throughout the seventeenth century. The Presbyterian theologians strongly protested against an edict of James I. in 1616 (see Sports, Book of), allowing participation in certain pleasures on Sunday. But the edict found defenders among Anglican prelates and theologians. It may be noted that, in a revival of the dispute toward the end of that century, John Bunyan took a position favoring the freer conception of Sunday. John Milton in On Christian Doctrine (vol. iv. of his Prose Works, London, 1848-53) recorded opinions partially at variance with those of the Westminster Confession. In the controversy which was then in progress on the continent, the development of the extreme views of the anti-Sabbatarians is noteworthy. They held that Christians are not commanded to devote any particular day to a special celebration, and that everything which a Christian may do, he may do to the glory of God. Ordinary labor need not, therefore, be suspended on Sunday, provided only the hearts of the laborers are in a correct attitude toward God.
Thus three main tendencies developed regarding the observance of Sunday: the Puritanical, the extreme anti-Sabbatarian, and the mod-
4. Three erate Lutheran. The first of these Theories positions is represented best in the
of Sunday, strict Sunday laws of Scotland and of the New England colonies. That Sunday should be most carefully observed as a day of rest and that the State should support them in securing such an observance, was held as a fundamental right. However, there were always men of influence who
opposed this view, and in America particularly the influence of the Sunday-school has tended to moderate, in some measure, the earlier Puritanical view of Sunday observance. In England there has been during the last quarter of a century, under the influence of anti-Sabbatarian and even irreligious utilitarian ideas, a reaction against the formal observance of Sunday. The Sunday League, organized July 2, 1875, at a meeting in Westminster Palace Hotel, in London, is in favor of allowing participation in harmless Sunday amusements, particularly in the larger cities. Here and there, where the influence of this organization has reached, museums, public gardens, and libraries have been opened on Sunday. A more radical tendency is that which supports public lectures on secular themes on Sunday afternoons.
In Germany there developed a strong movement about the middle of the nineteenth century in favor of a more careful observance of Sun- 5. Recent day as a day of rest. Through a series Movements of church conventions and by the issue in Germany, of a large number of publications relating to the subject, the great extent of Sunday labor was brought to public attention, and the necessity of protecting the laborer in his right to Sunday rest. The governments of Prussia and Wurttemberg responded to the appeal of the Protestant church there (1850) by enforcing Sunday observance in all branches of the governmental service. The religious periodicals championed the cause with great zeal. The movement waned for a period but revived about 1874 as one of the phases of the Kulturkampf. In both Germany and Switzerland numerous organizations were brought into existence for the purpose of strengthening the movement, and these have been united since 1876 in an international congress. The movement has resulted in Germany in a number of recent laws enforcing the observance of Sunday as a day of rest.