The Kingdom of Tonga is an island nation located in Polynesia that has Sunday laws embedded in its 1875 Constitution. For 150 years, Tonga’s Sunday laws—which prohibit most commercial and recreational activities on Sundays— have established Sunday as a sacred day of rest dedicated to worship and family. But, like all Sunday laws throughout history, Tonga has, in practice, created more division than unity—producing victims by benefiting one class at the expense of others.
Below is one of the strongest protests and rebukes ever leveled against Sunday law advocates, published by Kaniva News, a leading local media outlet in Tonga. In their critique, they describe Sunday laws as hypocritical, unjust, divisive, selectively enforced, controlling, un-Christian, and responsible for creating a two-tiered system—one that privileges a select class while victimizing others.
On April 19, 2025, Kaniva News published the following:
• “Enough debate. Tonga’s Sunday laws aren’t about piety—they’re about inequality.” [1]
• “Here’s the truth: the law is selectively enforced, creating a two-tier system where tourists and the well-connected thrive while ordinary Tongans face punishment.” [1]
• “On Sundays, tourists sip beers at waterfront bars. Asian construction crews work under government permits. Yet a local selling bread risks fines. Airlines are grounded—unless it’s a medical evacuation. Hospitals and police operate, but small businesses must shut.” [1]
• “Where’s the Christian morality in that? This isn’t about faith—it’s about control. If the law can’t be applied fairly, it shouldn’t exist at all.” [1]
• “Why should a foreigner enjoy freedoms denied to Tongans? Why are some businesses privileged while others are penalized?” [1]
• “Tonga’s Sunday laws don’t uphold holiness; they entrench hypocrisy. It’s time to scrap them or enforce them equally.” [1]
• “If shutting down businesses truly strengthened morality, Europe and the Pacific’s richest Christian nations would do the same. Instead, they trust their people to honor the Sabbath without state coercion.” [1]
• “The choice is simple: practice what you preach, or abandon the pretense.” [1]
When Tonga’s local media excoriates its government for perpetuating Sunday laws under the guise of religious values, it should serve as a wake-up call for us here in America. After 150 years of enforcing these laws, it is abundantly clear that such misguided religious policies create a two-tiered society—one that favors a privileged class while punishing others. Throughout history, Sunday laws have consistently discriminated against minorities while benefiting the powerful, the elite, and the politically connected.
U.S. lawmakers should take a hard look at the negative consequences of Sunday laws in Tonga, where efforts to enforce religious rest have led to social division, economic injustice, discontent, and victimization. From Tonga to Europe and America, these laws have historically favored dominant religious groups while alienating minorities, restricting personal freedoms, and harming small businesses.
We need to learn from these failed attempts at Sunday legislation and recognize that imposing religious observance through law never achieves the desired outcome and often backfires, creating inequality, hypocrisy, and coercion. Rather than promoting unity, they tend to expose and deepen cultural and religious divides, highlighting the dangers of legislating doctrinal beliefs.
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Yet the Adventist church in Tonga can’t even figure out what is Sabbath and what is Sunday.