To follow up my response to Jon Kukla's inquiry on the origins of Virginia's "day of rest" statute, the case of
Mandell v. Haddon, 202 Va. 979, 121 S.E.2d 516 (1961) provides a history. Pertinent excerpts are:
"The first Sunday observance law in Virginia was passed in 1610, and it provided that "Every man and woman shall repair in the morning to the divine service * * *."
"The statute of 29 Charles II, ch. 7 (1678), which enjoined all work on Sunday, was adopted by some of the American colonies as a part of the common law of England. But in 1776 the Virginia General Assembly repealed the former colonial law requiring church attendance and made it clear that the separation of church and State would be complete in Virginia."
"The forerunner of the present Sunday law, with clearly secular purposes, was adopted in Virginia in 1779."
If anyone would like a copy of Mandell, please request offline.

Richard E. Dixon
Attorney at Law
Fairfax, VA 22030
703-691-0770
fax 703-691-0978

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