Favourite Pew Or Box Seat? Sabbath Beliefs As a Barrier to Sporting Event Attendance on Sunday: A Congregational Study (Report‪)‬

Introduction [1] Sabbath practices are an integral part of Christianity. Some Christians still consider Sunday to be the Sabbath day, a hallowed day that should be set apart for physical and spiritual rest, worship, and reflection. From the first century to modern times, an array of prohibitions has evolved governing work and leisure on the Christian Sabbath. For example, the English Puritans and Anglicans viewed participating in or even watching sports to be inappropriate Sabbath activities. McCrossen (2000) further explains, "Puritans suggested that since sports were types of bodily labor, they detracted from bodily rest and service to God: therefore, they should be banned on Sunday ... Nevertheless, the core of English population remained committed to a version of Sunday observance that allowed for, at the very least, sporting, drinking, and visiting after morning services" (10). In spite of a general shift from a "legalistic" to a less restrictive, liberal view regarding Sabbath observance, leisure and sport on Sunday continue to prompt controversy.