What happens to church buildings when members no longer attend? (Muslims, Baptist)

[BaptistFundie]

Originally Posted by normstad

Simple, they become surplass, and often, unwanted properties. In Canada, apparently 9,000 are doomed.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/losin...nada-1.5046812

Some of them are beautiful buildings, but if they are on prime real estate, often they get torn down and redeveloped. I'm not sad to see declining church membership, but I do regret the loss of some of the truly historical buildings. Traveling through Europe one sees churches builty 800 years ago, still standing, and the history attached to them has formed us, for better or worse, what most of Western society is today.

The way American society is going, the angry atheist movement would rather see them torn down.

[phetaroi]

Originally Posted by BaptistFundie

The way American society is going, the angry atheist movement would rather see them torn down.

That's not true at all. The architecture can be quite inspiring.

[LuminousTruth]

Originally Posted by normstad

Simple, they become surplass, and often, unwanted properties. In Canada, apparently 9,000 are doomed.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/losin...nada-1.5046812

Some of them are beautiful buildings, but if they are on prime real estate, often they get torn down and redeveloped. I'm not sad to see declining church membership, but I do regret the loss of some of the truly historical buildings. Traveling through Europe one sees churches builty 800 years ago, still standing, and the history attached to them has formed us, for better or worse, what most of Western society is today.

A church without attendees is a taxable property according to the tax codes. Period. The other option is to make it a non-profit museum with attendees. Or as a taxable for-profit museum with as few attendees as it would like..

[LuminousTruth]

Originally Posted by BaptistFundie

The way American society is going, the angry atheist movement would rather see them torn down.

The angry Baptist movement doesn't seem to be holding them together.
I've never met an atheist (an educated one) that didn't want a church converted into an eternal museum and warning of what was in the past and what can be again.

Even the uneducated atheist seem to fear and hate churches as to want to leave them alone rather than to bother them like Christians (likely their teens) will bother atheist gravesites.

[jfre81]

Originally Posted by BaptistFundie

The way American society is going, the angry atheist movement would rather see them torn down.

I might argue that the architecture is the most objectively positive contribution religion has made to our culture.

[Arach Angle]

i though they became public storage?

[OzzyRules]

The band REM played their first gig at a party held in an abandoned church around 1981.

[Mightyqueen801]

Originally Posted by Arach Angle

i though they became public storage?

What? Was that a joke?

Sometimes a church can become a music venue, particularly if the building was itself once mentioned in a famous song.

https://guthriecenter.org/

[mensaguy]

Originally Posted by Mightyqueen801

What? Was that a joke?

Sometimes a church can become a music venue, particularly if the building was itself once mentioned in a famous song.

https://guthriecenter.org/

I've been to one of those. It's in Great Barrington, Mass. I've heard they have some great dinners there on Thanksgiving.

[Richard1965]

Originally Posted by normstad

Simple, they become surplass, and often, unwanted properties. In Canada, apparently 9,000 are doomed.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/losin...nada-1.5046812

Some of them are beautiful buildings, but if they are on prime real estate, often they get torn down and redeveloped. I'm not sad to see declining church membership, but I do regret the loss of some of the truly historical buildings. Traveling through Europe one sees churches builty 800 years ago, still standing, and the history attached to them has formed us, for better or worse, what most of Western society is today.

I lived near a close to 1000 year old church when I lived in Rodalben Germany....In fact, it may be 1000 by now, it was well over 900 when I was there...