Washington, D.C.–Based Conservative Think Tank Calls for Policies Protecting Workers’ Right to Refuse Sunday Labor

The American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research (AEI) is a conservative think tank founded in 1938 and based in Washington, D.C. In a recent article published by the institute, AEI is making a significant claim: that the Sabbath is not just a religious practice but a form of civic infrastructure essential for a healthy democracy. The article follows Charlie Kirk’s Sabbath message and argues that citizens are increasingly overworked, exhausted, and digitally overwhelmed, and on that basis calls for public policy interventions—including protections allowing workers to refuse employment on Sundays.

AEI published the following statements:

• “Across America, a growing number of people are rediscovering an ancient practice that even the late conservative activist Charlie Kirk had begun advocating before his recent death: the weekly observance of Sabbath.” [1]

• “The beauty of Sabbath principles lies in their adaptability. You don’t need to be Jewish, or even religious, to benefit from weekly rhythms of rest and connection.” [1]

• “The Civic Case for Sabbath— Sabbath isn’t just personal wellness; it is civic infrastructure. Democracy requires citizens who can deliberate, compromise, and work together toward common goals.” [1]

• “Choose a consistent 24-hour period for rest and connection—Friday evening to Saturday evening, Sunday morning to Monday morning, or any schedule that works.” [1]

• “Communities can support this through policy: quiet hours that limit noise pollution, restaurant and retail workers’ right to refuse Sunday shifts, and public spaces designed for gathering rather than consuming.” [1]

• “Low-wage workers often lack control over their schedules, single parents face overwhelming demands, and many Americans work multiple jobs to survive. These realities require systemic solutions.” [1]

• “Whether motivated by faith, wellness, or simple exhaustion with digital overwhelm, Americans are rediscovering that we need practices that remind us who we are beyond our productivity.” [1]

• “In a democracy under strain, that weekly return might be exactly what we need to find our way forward, together.’’ [1]

• “The choice isn’t whether to rest, but whether we’ll reclaim it voluntarily or have it forced upon us by burnout. The Sabbath whispers what our bodies scream: stop. Just stop.” [1]

The American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research is presenting Sunday as a civil tool for stabilizing our political, social, and economic systems, arguing that any policies—including laws—designed to protect this day can therefore be justified. The institute calls for limits on noise and commerce, along with protections allowing workers to refuse Sunday labor. Together, these proposals advance the idea that government should intervene to secure a collective rest by establishing a synchronized day of rest for all Americans.

Although AEI claims individuals may choose their own Sabbath, its argument gravitates toward Sunday when addressing labor protections and public policy. This is precisely how Sunday laws have functioned historically—first under Constantine, later within early American colonial Puritan societies, and ultimately as the dominant pattern throughout Western culture.

Brothers and sisters, the civil case for Sunday rest is being built step by step. Under the banner of the common good, wellness, and civic renewal, Sunday is being elevated as the practical day of rest, accompanied by calls for government-backed protections and restrictions. This scenario is precisely what Bible prophecy warned would precede the mark of the beast—when the state assumes the power to mandate sacred time as a moral duty, enforced through economic pressure and oppressive laws. The issue will ultimately be about authority: who has the right to dictate worship and obedience? God or man?

“The Sabbath will be the great test of loyalty, for it is the point of truth especially controverted. When the final test shall be brought to bear upon men, then the line of distinction will be drawn between those who serve God and those who serve Him not. While the observance of the false sabbath in compliance with the law of the state, contrary to the fourth commandment, will be an avowal of allegiance to a power that is in opposition to God, the keeping of the true Sabbath, in obedience to God’s law, is an evidence of loyalty to the Creator. While one class, by accepting the sign of submission to earthly powers, receive the mark of the beast, the other, choosing the token of allegiance to divine authority, receive the seal of God” (Great Controversy, p. 605).

Sources

[1] https://web.archive.org/web/20250920122421/https://www.aei.org/op-eds/charlie-kirks-advocacy-for-the-sabbath-is-exactly-what-we-need-today/