Ever since the Catholic church came to Norway a thousand years ago, people have been building churces. Now it's time to tear some of them down.
There was a time when it made sence to build and keep all the churces, that every little community had their own congregation. But not anymore.
If you go into any given church on any given sunday, you'll notice that the congregation is small - and consist mostly of elderly people. When you add the fact that several churches have to close down during winter to save power, and others turn off the lights to save a quid or two.
As our society gets more and more secular, fewer and fewer attends church for anything other than baptisms, communions, weddings and funerals. So the only solution is to close them down. Not all, but many.
We have means of transportation other than our feet, horses and rowing boats. We can go to a church that is more than a couple of kilometers away. And the effects of closing down some churches can only be positive. The economy of the church will improve, the congregation will become bigger and more versatile, and we may again see churches that are open at all times - and we may actually see them.
Thanks for the article, I read it and the post and I have to say that this all gets more confusing when you are new to all this,just when I think I understand it all, someone throws in something new.
I guess I will all click in to place at some stage!
Posted by: Mark Lee | August 05, 2011 at 07:45 AM