Summary
Churches across the U.S. are grappling with dwindling attendance and financial instability, forcing many to close or sell properties.
The Diocese of Buffalo has shut down 100 parishes since the 2000s and plans to close 70 more. Nationwide, church membership has dropped from 80% in the 1940s to 45% today.
Some churches repurpose their land to survive, like Atlanta’s First United Methodist Church, which is building affordable housing.
Others, like Calcium Church in New York, make cutbacks to stay open. Leaders warn of the long-term risks of declining community and support for churches.
We’re discussing what can be. Can they replace churches? How do you get people to donate? The church could get people to donate because of guilt and sin and shit, the community center can’t do that.
Where I live, community centers are typically funded by taxes, not donations. Which makes a lot of sense because it’s a positive externality. We have the money and just don’t want to spend it on church.
Must be nice. Where I live we can barely get people to pay taxes to fund schools.
Yes it is. I suspect those votes keep on passing because there’s a social need for it and we aren’t spending that money on church.