A new report shows that the Church of England’s cathedrals are its most popular places of worship. They are also vital centres of community, arts and music and are major tourist attractions in their cities.
But the latest research shows that many of the historic buildings are facing major financial challenges and having to find new ways of generating income.
Religion think-tank Theos this week published a detailed report looking at the role of cathedrals in modern England. The report, ‘Living Stones: English Cathedrals as Sacred Spaces in Changing Times,’ revealed that more than three-quarters (77 per cent) of adults in England had visited a cathedral at least once in the past three years.
The research showed: “Cathedrals reach beyond regular churchgoers. A majority of those with no religious affiliation have visited a cathedral in the last three years, and many enjoy worship, music, prayer or stillness while doing so.”
Other research confirms that cathedrals have significant economic benefits, generating around £235 million of additional expenditure in their local communities a year, creating more than 6,000 jobs and mobilising 13,000 volunteers.
Yet the Theos research also points out that four out of five of the cathedrals operate “in structural deficit” with no guaranteed national funding for their core functions.
In recent years, cathedrals have attracted criticism for activities aimed at drawing new visitors into their buildings. Last autumn, JD Vance criticised an art installation at Canterbury Cathedral, saying that the graffiti-style artworks had made “a beautiful historical building really ugly.”
Other cathedrals have prompted complaints after installing a temporary fairground ‘helter-skelter’ inside the building or hosting silent discos. In St Albans, one of the cathedrals studied for the research, a large-scale painting of the Last Supper depicting Jesus as a black man, sparked debate.
Research from the Bible Society has shown that one of the top three places for people with no religion, or non-practising Christians to encounter the Bible was while sightseeing in a cathedral or church.
This underlined the importance of cathedrals and churches making available good printed material and displays explaining the Christian gospel. Many cathedrals feature information explaining the faith, and their stained glass and other art works can help introduce visitors to Bible stories and themes.
But one of the Theos report’s main findings highlights the growing gap “between the scale of public benefit cathedrals provide and the level of recognition, understanding and support they receive.”
The report concludes that, to survive and thrive, cathedrals need sustainable investment from funders that recognise the cathedrals’ public benefits in wellbeing, education, heritage skills, music and community cohesion.
They also need support from national and local government, with strategic partnerships and recognition “catching up with the scale of their public impact.”
The report also calls for journalists and commentators to give “more accurate, contextualised coverage of what cathedrals do and who they serve,” instead of giving disproportionate coverage during “moments of controversy.”
It also encourages visitors and local community members to value their cathedrals, and consider joining a ‘friends’ scheme or making a regular donation.
In St Albans, the city where I minister, the cathedral plays a major role. In addition to being a centre of worship, seven days a week, it also has a thriving congregation and hosts a wide range of community events. Its education department organises visits for school children and young people, as well as organising lectures and courses for adults.
The cathedral attracts many visitors to the city and helps increase income for local shops, restaurants and hotels. It’s impossible to imagine St Albans without its cathedral.
The Theos research, conducted in partnership with the Association of English Cathedrals and supported by the Church Commissioners of the CofE, brought together a specially-commissioned YouGov poll of more than 1,800 adults in England, a survey of more than 1,300 cathedral visitors and 150 in-depth interviews across six cathedrals: St Albans, Carlisle, Derby, Exeter, Rochester and York.
Rev Peter Crumpler is a Church of England minister in St Albans, Herts, UK, and a former communications director with the CofE.
