“Then he said to them, ‘The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.’” Mark 2:27–28, NIV
For us Seventh-day Adventists, the concept of keeping the Sabbath and keeping it on the seventh day of the week is right there in our name. After He created the world, God rested on the seventh day (Gen. 2:1–3). At Mount Sinai, God gave the Hebrews His guidelines, the fourth of which reminded them to rest on the seventh day, as He did after His work of creation (Exod. 20:8–11). The importance of Sabbath-keeping forms part of our own fundamental beliefs as Seventh-day Adventists.
The Global Church Member Surveys (GCMS) of 2018 and 2023 asked members not only whether they agreed with the belief that the true Sabbath is the seventh day of the week, but also whether, when they keep the Sabbath, they cope better with the stresses of the week, and whether they keep the Sabbath because it is part of who they are, rather than because they have to.
In the GCMS 2018, 83% of members strongly agreed and 13.7% agreed that the true Sabbath is the seventh day (Saturday); this is overwhelming support. Just 2.2% weren’t sure, and 0.4% and 0.8% disagreed or strongly disagreed. In the 2023 survey, similarly, 82.7% strongly agreed and 13.6% agreed that the seventh day (Saturday) is the true Sabbath; 1.9% were not sure, and 0.8% and 0.9% disagreed or strongly disagreed.
In the five years between surveys, the numbers are very consistent. Happily, only 3.4% in 2018 and 3.6% in 2023 were unsure or disagreed that the seventh day is the Sabbath.
Members were then asked whether, when they kept Sabbath faithfully, they coped better with the stresses of the week.
In the GCMS 2018, 52.6% strongly agreed, and 35.1% agreed that they did cope better with stress; 8.1% were unsure, and those who disagreed or strongly disagreed were equal at 2.1%.
In 2023, 56.3% strongly agreed and 32.4% agreed that they coped better with stress when they kept the Sabbath faithfully; 6% were not sure, 2.5% disagreed, and 2.9% strongly disagreed.
While the figures remain generally similar, and the strongly-agree proportion is up, there is a slight shift toward the “disagree” end of the scale.
In the GCMS 2018, when asked whether keeping the Sabbath was part of who they are, rather than something they do because they have to, 55.9% strongly agreed and 31.8% agreed that it was; 6.2% were not sure, 3.4% disagreed, and 2.7% strongly agreed.
However, the 2023 survey found that 62.2% strongly agreed and 28.4% agreed; 4.7% were not sure, 2.5% disagreed, and 2.2% strongly disagreed.
There is a clear shift in the five years between surveys; in 2018, 12.3% were unsure or disagreed that they kept the Sabbath because it was a part of who they are, while in 2023, it had dropped to 9.4%. This is a positive result, especially because the margin of error in both surveys was only +/- 1%, so this 3-percentage point shift is real. It suggests that a positive and biblical theology of Sabbath is widespread, and spreading wider, among church members.
As Seventh-day Adventists, we believe that God created the Sabbath for our benefit, to help us remember His work of creating the world, and to allow us to rest from our own work. Seventh-day Adventist Fundamental Belief #20 affirms that “Joyful observance of this holy time from evening to evening, sunset to sunset, is a celebration of God’s creative and redemptive acts.” This is why we rest on Sabbath.
You can access the full report here.
Created in collaboration with the Institute of Church Ministry.
Published by ASTR on 07/31/2024.