What to do with Unused Churches?

With the large decline in church attendance in Western Europe, you might be wondering what is going on at all the churches that used to have churchgoers but do not anymore.  Some are converted for other practical or mundane uses.  The converting of this church in Spain into the Kaos Temple Skate Park is particularly colorful.  Yet, the author of this article would rather have them be torn down and replaced than converted for more practical uses.

What do you think?  Should old churches be torn down or converted?

Christians in Western Europe

Our next lecture will discuss the process of secularization, a process that seems to be furthest along in Western Europe.  But just what exactly does religion look like in Western Europe?  Earlier today the Pew Research Center released a report titled "Being Christian in Western Europe" (complete report in pdf here) that answers exactly that question.  It's one sentence summary is:

The majority of Europe’s Christians are non-practicing, but they differ from religiously unaffiliated people in their views on God, attitudes toward Muslims and immigrants, and opinions about religion’s role in society.

Put differently, although church attendance rates are low, being Christian is still a meaningful notion in Europe as it does correlate with religious, political, and cultural views.

The report is long, but do read the overview page to find answers to these questions.

1. What country in Western Europe has the highest rate of church attendance?
2. Which is larger: the number of non-practicing Christians or the number of unaffiliated?
3. Who are more likely to express nationalist views:  non-practicing Christians or church-attending Christians?
4. What percent of church-attending Christians favor legal gay marriage?
5. Those that report "none" for their religious affiliation might still believe in God or a higher power.  For which Western European countries, is the rate of agnostic or atheists among the "nones" the highest?

The Economics of Church Solar Panels

This article about churches installing solar panels combines religious teachings, church financing, and government regulation all into one story.  Many religious individuals feel compelled to install solar panels on their church buildings both to be better stewards of the environment but also to cut costs.  Churches with enough members are able to raise donations to install solar panels, but smaller congregations are less successful in raising the large funds necessary to pay for the installation.

Well, one church in North Carolina made a deal with a solar company such that the company would install the panels for free if the church would buy its electricity from the company instead of the local power company.  But last week the state's Supreme Court ruled that this arrangement violated state regulations because the local power company was the only authorized seller of electricity.  Read the article to find out what will happen with those solar panels.

Many churches are now fighting for the law to change to make clean energy more accessible for other churches.  Do the churches have a strong case?  Should the state changes its regulations about the sale of electricity?

Episcopalians and the Royal Wedding

The Episcopal Church is the US-based denominational arm of the worldwide Anglican Communion.  It has gone through some tough times in recent decades as it has dealt with both diminishing membership and internal disputes over issues such as same-sex marriage.  So it might not be surprising that the upcoming royal wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle is welcome event that will generate some positive press and excitement.

As reported in this article, Episcopalians in the USA are indeed trying to use the wedding as positive marketing moment -- especially because an American bishop will be delivering the wedding sermon.  This is an opportunity for the Episcopal Church to get some attention and publicity.  Even congregations are setting up viewing parties to take advantage of the excitement.

But taking advantage of the excitement does not necessarily entail a permanent and lasting enthusiasm or interest.  Do you think that this moment will have a lasting effect on the Episcopal Church as a whole?  What about for a few individuals?  Can you use an economic approach to answer these questions?

USCIRF 2018 Annual Report

The USCIRF released in Annual Report.  See the announcement here and the full report here (pdf here).

The report is quite long and too much to make it all required.  You will be reading parts of it to complete one of your HW assignments later this quarter.  But for now you should at least read the Overview.

The information the report contains is extremely useful and valuable for understanding religious persecution around the world.  But it is the designating of CPCs that is the most consequential aspect of the report.