The Economist (2022-01-08)

52 International TheEconomistJanuary8th 2022

consultancy based in Atlanta, which advis­

es the parish in Milton Keynes.

Many churches, however, have failed to

keep up. Their clergy did not move online

during  lockdown,  either  because  they

lacked the technology or disliked the idea.

Some  have  been  slow  to  reopen  their

doors. Meanwhile, the streaming of servic­

es  has  made  it  easier  for  worshippers  to

“church hop”. In a poll of practising Chris­

tians  in  America  in  2020  by  Barna  Group,

which  conducts  worldwide  research  into

religion,  14%  had  switched  churches,  18%

were attending more than one church, 35%

were  attending  only  their  pre­pandemic

church and  32%  had  stopped  going  to

church altogether (see chart below).

An  essential  move  for  any  church,

whether  it  is  struggling  or  thriving,  is  to

balance  its  books,  and  that  nowadays  in­

variably  means  sorting  out  its  property

portfolio.  Organised  religion  is  grappling

with the same problems faced by landlords

of tired shopping malls and vacant offices

as  businesses  go  online.  Do  they  stand  by

and  watch  attendance  shrink?  If  not,  how

should they rethink their property?

Get real (estate)

For  centuries  religions  have  amassed

earthly riches in the form of property. The

Vatican  owns  thousands  of  buildings,

some in the swankier parts of London and

Paris.  The  Church  of  Scientology  owns

glamorous addresses in Hollywood said to

be worth $400m, a medieval­style castle in

South Africa and an 18th­century mansion

in  Sussex,  England.  The  Wat  Phra  Dham­

makaya,  a  temple  owned  by  Thailand’s

wealthiest  Buddhist  sect,  boasts  medita­

tion halls around the world. It is a mystery

how  much  the  Church  of  Jesus  Christ  of

Latter­Day  Saints,  better  known  as  the

Mormon  church,  possesses;  it  is  said  to

have American investments worth $100bn,

including  cattle  ranches,  a  theme  park  in

Hawaii and a mall near its Salt Lake Temple

in Utah. Smaller religious institutions also

depend  on  property  for  their  earthly

wealth. Temples, synagogues and mosques

all watch warily as property prices rise.

This  has  become  all  the  more  vital  as

formal  religious  attendance  falls,  and  do­

nations  fall  with  it.  Church  buildings  in

Britain  have  closed  at  a  rate  of  more  than

200  a  year  in  the  past  decade.  Hundreds

more may be sold off or demolished in the

next  few  years.  Even  in  America,  tens  of

thousands of buildings are at risk of shut­

ting  their  doors  for  ever.  Nearly  a  third  of

American  synagogues  have  closed  in  the

past two decades.

The Church of St Mary in Berlin, a vast

red­brick  Gothic  structure,  reflects  this

trend. It is full of frescoes and stone reliefs

dating back centuries. The pews, however,

are  empty.  The  congregation  has  been

dwindling since the second world war. Its

Lutheranpastor,GregorHohberg,saysthat

young Berliners still have “religious

needs”butfulfilthematyogaclassesand

meditation groups.The public, hesays,

doesn’trealisethatthechurchwelcomes

gayfamiliesandthatlotsofpastorsare

women. Father Hohberg says thatmost

Germansthinkthechurchisoutofdate.

Meanwhile,acrosstheworld,thesoar­

ingcostsofutilitiesandurgentrepairsare

becomingprohibitive.TheChurchofEng­

land says it needs £1bn ($1.3bn)—more

than seven times its annual income in

2020—for repairsinthenextfiveyears.

Englishchurcheshaveclosedatanalarm­

ingrateforthepast 30 years.InAmericaex­

penses related to buildings account for

morethana quarterofchurchbudgets.Yet

churchesacrossthecountryarereckoned

tohave80%morespacethantheyneed.

Manymosques,especiallyintheWest,

areinfinancial difficulties,too.Though

theyoftenattractmoreworshippersthan

well­fundedchurches,theirannualbud­

gets,estimatedataround$70,000forthe

averagemosqueinAmerica,areoftentoo

smalltokeepbuildingsingoodrepair.

Theinternethasbeenbotha blessing

anda curse.AvirtualsermonbytheArch­

bishopofCanterburyin 2020 washeardby

anestimated5mpeople—morethanfive

timesthenumberofweeklychurchgoers

inBritainbeforethepandemic.Yetonline

participationcomesata price.Ifbelievers

stopvisitingthem,ancientbuildingsrisk

becomingobsolete.

Hence religious groups are selling

propertyfasterthanbefore,orareexplor­

ingotherusesforit.Faithleadersseekinga

placeinHeavenarelearningtoadaptby

sellingorrentingoutreal­estateassetson

Earth,wheremothandrustdothcorrupt.

Jehovah’sWitnesses,whoclaimaworld­

widemembershipof9m,havesoldtheir

Britishheadquarters,wheretheyusedto

printleafletsanda magazine,theWatch-

tower. Hillsong,anAustralianmegachurch

whichclaims150,000weeklyworshippers

in 30 countries, rentstheatres, cinemas

andothervenuesforSundayservices.

Butpartingwithholypropertycanbe

awkward.In 2020 theoverseersofthefam­

ousHindutempleofVenkateswarainTiru­

malaintheIndianstateofAndhraPradesh

werebrandedas“anti­Hindu”fortryingto

auctionoffdozensof“unviable”property

assetsthathadbeendonatedbymembers.

Theyweremadetodroptheidea.

Getgoingorgetgobbledup

Another,moreradical,approachto such

problemsisbecoming morecommon:if

your church cannot thrive on its own,

mergewithanother.A fewmonthsagoJim

Tomberlin, a pastor turned consultant,

wassoundedoutbya churchnearDetroit,

Michigan,thathadbeenstrugglingwith

barelyfiftypeopleinitscongregationanda

mortgageof$450,000onitsproperty.Its

leaderswanttojoinupwithanotherparish

15 minutes’driveaway,whosechurchhasa

flockofathousand—and ahealthybal­

ance­sheet.Likemanyothersina similar

bind,theminnowshaveaskedMrTomber­

lintomediate.“Theyrecogniseweeither

mergeordie,”ashebluntlyputsit.

Thetrendforchurchestomergebegan

beforecovid,butthepacemaypickup.It is

promptednotbytheologybutadministra­

tion,asbudgetstightenorpastorsleave.

Suchconsolidationisoccurringbetween

RomanCatholicchurches,betweensyna­

goguesandwithinotherreligions.Butitis

particularly common among America’s

mainstreamProtestantchurches.

Asinanybusiness,whentwochurches

combine,theirleaderscanclash,cultural

changescanputmembersoff,andjointfi­

nancesdonotalwaysworkout.Inchurch

mergers,theweakeroneislikelytolose

followers.About a fifthlose more than

40%oftheircongregationwithina yearof

theunion,accordingtoa surveyin 2019 of

almosta thousandchurchleaderswhohad

beenthrougha mergerinthepastdecade.

But around 1,750 Protestant “mega­

churches”withmorethan2,000regular

attendeesandmultimillion­dollarbudgets

havesprungup—someasa resultofmerg­

ers.Somehavelotsofsites.WarrenBird,an

Americanpastorwhoisanexpertonmega­

churches,saysa goodcouplingofparishes

islikea successfulmarriage.Eachpartner

mustbringitsowngifttothearrangement,

whereasa strugglingchurchthatcombines

withonethatisthrivingmaysimplyget

swallowedup.

Economistsarenotaloneinthinking

religious competition healthy. “If there

wereonlyonereligioninEngland,”argued

the French writerVoltaire in the1730s,

“therewouldbe dangerofdespotism.If

thereweretwotheywouldcuteachother’s

throats,butthereare30,andtheylivein

peaceandhappiness.”Perhapshewasun­

dulysanguine.Butthevirushascertainly

madegodlyinstitutionstakestockoftheir

commercialaswellasspiritualassets. n

Surfing for Jesus

United States, covid-19 online church attendance

% responding*

Source: Barna, “State of the Church”

*Among 562 practising Christians polled Apr-May 22

Switched from

pre-covid church

Viewing multiple

churches

Stopped attending

during covid

Still only attending

pre-covid church

35302520151050