A National Sunday Law Means a National Religion.
THE petition for a National Sunday law asks Congress to pass a bill forbidding in the Nation's mail and military service and inter-State commerce, and in the District of Columbia and the Territories, all Sunday traffic and work “except works of religion and works of real necessity and mercy,” etc. If Congress should pass such a bill making such to be the law, the United States Courts would be called upon immediately to construe the law. The law forbids everything but works of religion. It would then devolve upon the United States Courts to define what are works of religion. And when the United States shall have defined what are works of religion, and a national law excepts these from the general work of all the people, what will that be but the establishment of a national religion? More than this; another question would arise226to be decided. The matter would not stop with a decision of the question as to what are works of religion, but the additional question would have to be settled, What religion? There are a great many Chinese in this country, and that which to them would be works of religion would not be considered such at all by the Sunday-law workers. There are Mohammedans in the country, who might perform works on Sunday which, according to the Mohammedan religion would be strictly works of religion, yet which, according to the view of the Sunday-law advocates, would not be considered by any means, works of religion. The United States Supreme Court will have to decide amongst these different and discordant religions what religion it is whose works may be allowed on Sunday. As all those who are working for the Sunday law profess to be Christians; as the law is wanted to protect the Christian Sabbath; as the day which is established is declared by them to be the great badge of Christianity; the court will have to declare that it is works of the Christian religion that are meant in the statutes, and that only these are allowable under the law. And that would be only the establishment of Christianity as the national religion. The establishment of a national religion is inevitable just as surely as a national Sunday law shall ever be passed.