p. 7 | Colorado Sunday Barber Shop Decision

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · May 31, 1906

Colorado Sunday Barber Shop Decision

The supreme court of the State of Colorado has rendered a decision affirming the validity of an ordinance passed by the city of Denver, closing barber shops on Sunday. The decision, after affirming that the suspension of secular work on “the Sabbath,” is necessary to the “general welfare” of the people, states:—

The business of carrying on a barber shop is in every respect lawful and respectable; it is in no sense objectionable from any point of view; but these are not the tests to be applied to the ordinance in question.

What, then, are the tests to be applied? As the business of barbering on Sunday fully stands the test of propriety from any secular standpoint, it is only a religious test under which it can be condemned. But what right has a State court to apply religious tests to anything? The decision proceeds to state that “the business is purely secular, and not a work of necessity or charity.” Hence it is condemned because of its secular character, which brings it in conflict with certain religious views held by a class of the people. The decision draws a line between the religious views of the people, condemning the class who hold to one view of Sunday, and approving those who hold to a different view. It is a decision based on religious grounds entirely, and does not profess to be anything else. It is an open step in the direction of church and state union.