In the beginning, the story goes, the Creator began to move above the waters to bring life into being.

The first creation account of Genesis begins with a poetic image of chaos transformed into order. Day by day, the liturgy reads, light, dark and life emerge and each member of the whole is blessed and beheld as good – independently and collectively.

Through six days, the Creator summons and breathes the world into being. And then on the seventh day, the scripture says, God rested.

The divine being took rest from all of the work that they had done, and blessed and sanctified the seventh day that it may be a day of rest for all of creation.

This is how the story of faith begins within the Christian bible (Genesis 1.1-2.4a). It is to read an essence of goodness within each and every thing, and it is to articulate a difference – a distinction – about one day every week that is to remain free from work.

Reading further into scripture, we gain a stronger understanding of the reason why this sabbath is to be – the Hebrews had known of bondage and enslavement in Egypt (Deuteronomy 5.12-15). They had known what it was like to work each and every day. They had known what such a culture was good for –accumulating wealth for the top of the social pyramid.

And there was a commitment in their liberation to remain free and to create a culture where freedom may be realized. And so, one day every week is set apart and hallowed. To rest. To be. To be free from. To be free for.

Sabbath. This is divine wisdom for the beginning of any community and nation.

Perhaps you have memory of a time when your community widely practiced a day of rest. Whether it was Friday, Saturday or a Sunday, you may remember gathering with your neighbors for a time of worship. Or you may recall spending the day with your friends and neighbors doing absolutely everything and nothing. Or maybe everything centered around the dining table that day, and absolutely everyone was there.

Beyond the rest from labor, there is a goodness to the sabbath experience of gathering and community. The body breathes and the fabric of the community is strengthened. It is a blessing to the individual and the collective.

Within recent years, a common day of rest has been difficult to keep. Whether it is the economic necessity to work multiple jobs or the economic temptation to make our job our entire life; whether it is the expansive infatuation of athletic ambition that requests a professional schedule for amateurs; whether it is the near impossibility of attempting to care for parents and children simultaneously within this ecosystem – the idea that there would be one whole day to rest from it all is quite outlandish.

The idea that we would have enough energy within ourselves to participate in worship and/or our community on that whole day off is even moreso. This hyper-demanding, hyper-active, and hyper-vulnerable culture is one of the key reasons that religious attendance is down and that our social ties are so strained, according to Jake Meador, Tyler VanderWheel, and many others.

So it is unfortunate that representatives in Columbus, who would have some modicum of power to attempt to tame the demands of culture and enhance the welfare of our communities, are choosing not to touch the economic interests that benefit from our exhaustion. Instead, they’re requiring every Board of Education to create policies for students to leave school during the day for religious instruction (HB 445).

It is a noble pursuit of the government to honor the religious traditions and customs of its citizenry and everyone within its boundary. However, it is little more than a technical change to a culture requiring something much greater. Further, while there is perhaps some edification to individuals for religious enrichment, it is coming at the expense of time together for classmates (and perhaps respect for their classmates as some of these organizations providing religious instruction teach that particular identities and religions are less worthy or even harmful).

If Columbus wants to offer something to the social good of sabbath and time together, perhaps they should do more to address the economic and political realities that shape our culture more than cutting further into public goods for private benefits.

Rev. Chris McCreight is the minister of Hiram Christian Church and chaplain of Hiram College.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Ohio lawmakers should make room for religious studies