Not sure if this has been discussed.
[express.co.uk]
Church of England under threat as hundreds of churches close in decade
THE Church of England is under threat after details revealed 400 churches closed their doors in less than a decade. Senior clergy have warned of the "shocking" crisis facing parishes, which are the "bedrock of the Church of England".
By Rebecca Perring
08:40, Tue, Jan 4, 2022 | UPDATED: 09:21, Tue, Jan 4, 2022
"....The news comes after figures from the Office for National Statistics last month found the amount of Christians living in England is close to falling below 50 percent for the very first time.Atheists - a person who does not believe in the existence of a god or any gods - make up more than a third of “faith” groups....."
apparently there is a notable downward trend also in the US, though it is not exactly the same and I'm not sure what percent in the US is atheist. Maybe when I have time to read later it will be in the Pew numbers.
In England and Wales number of Christians falls to half the population, while in US similar pattern shows
Peter Kenny |Saturday, December 18 2021
"....Figures from 2019 show that only 51 percent of people in England and Wales are Christian, while those with no religion account for more than one-third., Christian Today reported on Dec. 17.
A few days earlier, Pew Research Center published a survey showing that about three-in-ten U.S. Adults are now religiously unaffiliated, and self-identified Christians make up 63 percent of the U.S. population in 2021, down from 75 percent a decade ago...."
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In some respects -GOOD! Bye, bye CofE.
However, the English system of government, law and education are tied closely into it.
In Europe, the scientific method of thought is taking over from the old superstitions. Look at the Republic of Ireland which has the fastest growing non-religious population in the world outside Vietnam.
Currently it is up to Queen Lizzie to prevent the fall of the CofE, but lets face it, she's a bit past it. Charlie boy may not live long enough to become king leaving Wills in charge of defending the faith soon.
Sofabeast
Level 7
Jan 4, 2022
3
kmaz:
good to know, thanks for writing it out for those of us who are not knowledgeable about what goes on there.
Hopefully the resources are going toward something tangible and worthwhile....
Aaron70
Level 7
Jan 4, 2022
2
kmaz:
It has always been a pet topic of mine to look at what becomes of the buildings once the churches decline in use and popularity? I think it's a rich topic. There are any number of potential community uses.
This editorial (which I haven't had time to read yet) seems to look into some angles on this:
Opinion
Anglicanism
Churches could double as banks, or even serve beer. We can’t leave them empty
Simon Jenkins
These mainly listed buildings sit at the heart of almost every community – we are squandering a precious legacy
Illustration of church stain glass windows with the message: Hope, Repair, Community.
‘Though standing mostly empty and underused, churches have an eerie hold on local people, Christians and atheists alike.’ Illustration: R Fresson/The Guardian
Fri 31 Dec 2021 10.00 GMT
We have a small Lutheran Church here in Shawnee that has become a bed and breakfast. There's another in a small town north of here that has become a community center and has Saturday night dances for the old folks. Baptists used to frown on dancing so I hope it was a Baptist Church.
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