Cathedrals accused of turning religious buildings into novelty modern art exhibitions

26 comments

1. Sky accused of being blue.

   The sky is very obviously blue, and I’m glad of it. It makes a nice change, and encourages people outdoors.

2. Christians: oh no, our religion is dwindling!

   Christianity:

3. I do understand the sentiment here, but the religious have to face choosing between the commercial use of cathedrals and churches, or their disuse and eventual disrepair. Tithes ain’t what they used to be!

4. Accused of by who? Just seems to be maybe two individuals at a push from the article.

   People are not religious anymore but the c of e owns loads of expensive buildings and this is how they are paying for their upkeep.

5. >Sunset yoga and wellbeing swings are a number of incentives being used by churches to generate revenue

   Huh. Good for the church.

6. Better this than scaring the money out of people with guilt.

7. It is a way to preserve historic and monumental buildings that otherwise would fall in disrepair. Over half the people in the Netherlands are either Atheist or non-practicing.

   In the orthodox areas of the country however protestant communities actually build hypermoderm mega-churches with space for thousands of people that are not even half filled on Sundays.

8. > Cathedral deans say they need to put on non-religious events to pay for the ancient buildings’ upkeep and to attract non-Christians, but critics argue the events are not appropriate in sacred spaces.

   Critics need to start putting up enough cash to cover the upkeep then. And if they’re not willing to pay those costs, then they pipe down.

9. I’m all for it. It gives these beautiful big old buildings a modern use and makes them more welcoming to everyone, as opposed to just churchgoers, especially with their numbers dwindling leading to problems with affording the upkeep.

10. Alternate title-

    Churches accused of having a community function.

11. Unfortunately, the 7 pensioners that make up most church congregations aren’t enough to provide an income. So the church has to face the same decision that many businesses have to face: adapt or die.

    Regardless of the religious aspect, these are important historical buildings, plenty of them are over 1000 years old. They have to be preserved, and it’s either do things like this or allow them to fall into private hands to be turned into flats.

12. What did they think all those frescos and sculptures were for? Churches have always had a double role as spaces for art.

13. Cathedrals have always been spaces for art. They’ve always collected money in one way or another. If you want these places to stay alive at all, you’re going to have to get money to them. It’s all well and good criticizing, but if you can’t find the hundreds or thousands of pounds per day they cost in upkeep, it’s moot. I’d personally be thrilled if churchgoing increased and people gave more to their churches. That’s just not what’s happening at the moment, though.

14. St Edmundsbury cathedral in Suffolk holds an annual beer festival. I don’t hear of complaints from the locals. Maybe the entity on high appreciates a pint of Greene King Abbot Ale!

15. Telegraph: your daily dose of ragebait. No stone left unturned.

16. Medieval cathedrals were the Disneyland or Alton Towers of their day, major tourist destinations and entertainment centres. Each of them would have been surrounded by merchants, events, pubs, inns, this is if anything a return to their roots, a recovery from the po faced and elitist attitudes of the Victorians.

    In order to survive they need to continue to attract visitors and more importantly their money, Its why they were built in the first place.

17. And?

    Derby Cathedral often hold events, whether it be Art Exhibitions, Music Events, Photograph Exhibitions and so on..

    The Music Events in majority are not religious in nature. They recently had a David Bowie Tribute night which was a sell out and are due to have a Tina Turner Tribute Night which I believe is close to selling out.

    There are usually 2 – 3 events every month.

    It’s a win win for the Cathedral, they get a huge income of money which they can use for maintenance, support local charities and you get people who would never usual step through the door of a religious building inside and experience something which is quite unique.

    Much better for the building to be used by a variety of different people as becomes a much loved location than for it to stand virtually empty for most of the time.

18. [removed]

19. I’ve seen the moon and earth globes in a couple of Cathedrals and think they were very tasteful for the environment and added to the experience.

    Seeing some Cathedrals turn into silent discos feels quite off for me.

    The spaces need using and to raise money so they’re stuck between a rock and a hard place.

20. That’s the only reason why I would go to a cathedral

21. The number of openly religious people in Britain is on the down. Unless you want ruined churches or the land to be sold off for redevelopment, this is what must be done.

22. Some friends and I went to Lincoln cathedral a few weeks ago, they wanted 12 quid per adult to go inside and have a look around. I would have paid a fiver , maybe six quid tops but twelve is taking the absolute piss. It would have cost sixty pounds for us all. So we went to the pub opposite instead. Their loss.

23. They’ve shown films at Derby Cathedral before. Churches are to some extent social buildings. Get them used!

24. The church are a joke, and at this point, just part of the wider cartel.

25. The right answer here is to get serious about amalgamating with other churches. There’s no real reason there needs to be an Anglican, Catholic and Orthodox church anymore. Bring them back together then work on folding in the more sensible Prots.

26. Our local cathedral has been quite open about it. The place costs a fortune to run.

    They’ve added a big cafe, refurbished the crypt as an event space and built a bar.

    Just been down for breakfast. Was at a music concert there a few weeks ago, and a murder mystery the week before that.

    They’ve also got music performances on, that big moon thing is coming in November, and they’ve got A Christmas Carol show in December.

    Keeps the building in use. Keeps the money coming in.

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