Jump directly to the Content
Jump directly to the Content

Sermon Illustrations

Home > Sermon Illustrations

Americans Keeping the Sabbath less Often

A new national survey found that Americans don't pay as much attention to the Sabbath as we used to. The new survey depicts the modern Sabbath as a day focused on relaxation and errand-running rather than religious commitment. Here were some of the key stats:

  • Half of U.S. adults today (50 percent) say the Sabbath has personal spiritual meaning for them, down from 74 percent in 1978.
  • More than seven in ten U.S. adults (73 percent) today say they "take rest and relaxation" on the Sabbath, compared to 63 percent in 1978.
  • Thirty percent of people go shopping on their "Sabbath," an 11 percentage point increase over nearly 40 years.
  • Religious activities like attending church, prayer, and Bible reading are less likely to be a part of people's weekends today than they were in the past. In 2016, 27 percent of U.S. adults attended church on what should have been their Sabbath, compared to 55 percent in 1978.

Related Sermon Illustrations

The One Day We All 'Sabbathed'

There has been one day in our society when we have Sabbathed, when we have truly rested. There has been one day when we've put off our jobs, gone home, and just been—September ...

[Read More]

Ranking All 50 States on Getting Enough Sleep

Although sleep is vital to our wellbeing, as many as 35.1 percent of American adults fail to get at least seven hours of sleep each night—the minimum recommended sleep time for ...

[Read More]