Orem's University Place Mall is now open Sundays
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University Place Mall began opening on Sundays for the first time this month.
Why it matters: Utah County is broadly seen as the cultural center of Mormonism — a faith that generally instructs believers not to work or shop on Sundays.
- The new hours could signal a shift away from orthodoxy in one of the faith's most famous strongholds.
Driving the news: The mall announced its new hours earlier this month on Facebook, saying, "Sundays just got a whole lot better!"
- Reactions ranged from "Hallelujah!" to sympathy for mall employees whose religious observances may interfere with the new schedule.
What they're saying: "As the center continues to grow as a mixed-use destination for dining, entertainment, office, residential and retail experiences, the update reflects evolving customer and tenant requests, and the needs of a growing community," mall spokesperson Amanda Butterfield writes in a statement to Axios.
Zoom in: Several stores remain closed on Sundays, per individual hours listed in the mall directory.
- Butterfield did not reply to Axios' query as to whether businesses will eventually have to open on Sundays.
Catch up quick: State lawmakers last year passed a measure banning companies from "unilaterally" requiring their Utah franchisees to open "on a day when operating would conflict with the franchisee's sincerely held religious belief."
- Rep. Ken Ivory (R-West Jordan) sponsored the ban amid a dispute between a bakery chain and two of its Utah locations, whose owner wanted to stay closed on Sundays.
Yes, but: The statute is silent on malls, which usually require tenants to operate during certain hours and days.
The big picture: As Utah has become more secular over the decades, more businesses have opened Sundays.
- Some have added the day fairly recently; Macey's grocery stores, for example, began seven-day operations less than a decade ago after declaring a "firm commitment to Sunday closing" for decades.
The other side: Utah County has shifted more slowly than the rest of the state.
- About 20 years ago, the Deseret News reported that just over half of Utah County businesses opened on Sundays, compared with about 90% in the rest of the state.
Flashback: Various Utah businesses were targeted by "Sunday Closing" laws until the 1940s, when a series of court rulings struck them down.
- Efforts to force Sunday closures died in 1970, when a state law survived about a month before falling to another court ruling.