What a new plan to save the UK’s churches says about their purpose in society
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Wednesday, February 7, 2024
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The National Churches Trust has launched a campaign to save the UK’s historic churches.
Key Points:
- The National Churches Trust has launched a campaign to save the UK’s historic churches.
- Church communities and other heritage organisations have lauded this push to highlight the significance of places of worship within British heritage.
The state of the UK’s churches
- It lists 4,871 historic buildings and sites in England at risk from disrepair or inappropriate changes.
- Cadw, the Welsh government’s historic environment service, reports that 10% of listed places of worship in Wales are vulnerable.
- Many churches are at risk of closure due to structural problems far beyond the capacity of local congregations to fix.
- Unlike some European countries, the UK government does not provide regular funding to churches for repairs.
- Between 1995 and 2017, the National Lottery Heritage Fund granted £970 million to places of worship across the UK.
- It is currently distributing a further £1.9 million through the National Churches Trust.
- Research has shown this can be a way to bring life back to under-used churches, particularly rural ones.
What is a church for?
- However, expanding the use of a church can also be incompatible with the religious beliefs of the faith community to which it belongs.
- For such groups, the sacred nature of their places of worship must be maintained.
- Under Roman Catholic Canon Law, the entire church building is considered sacred due to the presence of the Blessed Sacrament within it.
- Further, historic churches would not exist today without the continuing faith and practice of worshipping communities.
- Other countries recognise people’s rituals, beliefs and traditions as part of what Unesco defines as “intangible cultural heritage”.
- Church buildings should be prized – and protected – for the vibrant living traditions of Britain’s diverse religious communities, as well as what they tell us about our past.
The research for this article is funded by the British Academy through the Innovation Fellowship scheme. It is a formal research partnership with the Catholic Bishop's Conference of England and Wales. The project maintains research integrity and standards via University of Reading research processes.