Short Readings for the New Sabbatarianism

Context

• What do you mean by "sabbath"?

Justice

• 5 Unspoken Reasons the Holidays Suck for Millions of Americans by William Kuechenberg
• The Pursuit of Rest Under Capitalism by Gabes Torres
• We Need Sabbath. In the U.S., We Don't Trust Each Other Enough to Take It by Rachel Anderson
• Why we need "blue laws," the religious tradition that sanctifies life outside of work by Lyman Stone
• Why You Never See Your Friends Anymore by Judith Shulevitz

Wellness

• The Importance of Rest (for athletes) by Lyle McDonald
• The Secular Case For A Biblical Sabbath by Ethan Blake
• Shabbat Is an Underrated Way to Destress by Madison Margolin

Productivity

• Experimenting with a 7 day work week by Joel Gascoigne

Culture

• Let's Give American Families More Time for 'Kinder and Kirche' by Samuel J. Abrams
• Rest in the House of the Lord by Atar Hadari

Ecology

• The Sabbath in an Era of Climate Change by Jonathan Schorsch

History

• It took a century to create the weekend—and only a decade to undo it by Katrina Onstad
• Medieval Work & Leisure by Hugh O'Reilly
• Sabbath Observance, Sabbatarianism, and Social Class (in Victorian England) by George P. Landow

Policy

• In California, A Day Of Rest Is Not Just Religious Practice...It's Law by Jed Bergman
• The Post-Liberals' Fight for the Weekend by Sohrab Ahmari

Religion

• Call It a Delight by Emily Wilson Hussem
• For a moderate Sabbatarianism by Ben Crosby
• The Lockdowns Are Over, But You Still Need To Slow Down Your Life by Emily Clary
• The Third Commandment from the Catechism of the Catholic Church
• Why the Sabbath? by Luke Farrugia (Seventh-day Adventist)

Irreligion

• Penn Jillette's 10 Commandments for atheists
• Why we need to slow down our lives by Pico Iyer

Vice

• The Art of the Lost Weekend by Frank Kelly Rich

Last updated Aug 9th, 2026.