The Forgotten Meaning of Labor Day

The Diluted Radical Message of our Church…

The Christian movement in America has followed suit. In the early 1900s, churches often took part in the Labor Day celebrations, even setting aside the Sunday before the holiday as “Labor Sunday.” Labor historian Heath Carter writes that pastors would give up their pulpits to unionizers who would expound on the Bible’s condemnation of the rich and call the parishioners to repentance and charity for the poor. Where it used to be heavily involved in radical movements for justice, the American church today is tame and acquiescent to the rulers of this world. Our radical message is diluted so as not to offend the consciences of the wealthy.

We demand allegiance to the military forces used—still to this day—to shut the mouths of those peacefully demanding political and economic justice.

Let us remember the reason for the season—the reason why you have a 40-hour workweek, the reason why you have holidays, the reason your children do not work in mines, the reason your workplace is safe. Every day you enjoy the benefits of freedom gained not by the guns of soldiers or the benevolence of capitalists and politicians, but gained by the voices of the workers.

On Labor Day—and every day we labor—let us remember the reason for that season.

Guest Post Written By Tylor Standley

Tylor Standley is the author of The Separation of Church and Estate: Capitalism and the Christian Conscience and co-host of Podcastica Patristica, a podcast about early Christian history and theology.