Building: The Church

David Goodhew & Anthony-Paul CooperSOCREL Annual Conference: Material Religion10th April 2013

New Church Use of ‘Secular’ and ‘Sacred’ Space, 1980 to 2012

Background - Decline

• The decline of British Christianity is well documented (Brierley, 2006; Brown, 2001; Bruce, 1995).

• Empirical studies have demonstrated that British church attendance in many places is in decline (Voas & Crockett, 2005).

• Decline has been variously interpreted as the result of the secularisation thesis, people ‘believing without belonging’, and as a result of demographic shifts (Bruce, 1993; Davie, 1990; Davie, 1994; Kaufmann, Goujon & Skirbekk, 2011).

Background - Growth

• Church growth is less well documented, but still prevalent.

• Such growth is centred on London, black, Asian and minority ethnic communities and amongst new churches (Goodhew, 2012i).

• Once recent study found that between 1960 and 2010, over 200 new churches were formed in the London borough of Newham alone (Merchant, 2011).

• 5000 new congregations have sprung up in the UK in the last 3 decades – and this is probably an underestimate.

Background – Materiality

• The subject of materiality and the sociology of objects is an important, growing field in the area of sociology and religion, increasingly attracting the attention of sociologists and social scientists alike (Dant, 2006; Morgan, 2010).

• A plethora of research exists investigating the ways in which subjects interact with and respond to sacred buildings (Cook, 2010).

• Little attention has been paid to the role of secular spaces, or spaces with a secular history or background, in the interaction process with subjects (Jones, 2011 is a notable exception).

This Study

• Investigation of ‘new’ (< 30 years old) churches in York.

• Quantitative: Congregation size/growth rates, building types/locations.

• Qualitative: Interviews with church leaders, church website review

• This study is an extension of a study previously conducted by Goodhew (2012ii).

• Seeks to investigate how new and growing churches in York utilise ‘sacred’ and ‘secular’ spaces as places of worship.

New churches in YorkAdult Attendance

(Sunday)

Under-18s. Attendance

(Sunday)

Year Founded

The Ark 40 6 2003

Calvary Chapel 200/100 65 1997

Chinese Church 45 5 2003

Christ the Light 40 20 2007

Clifton Moor LEP 40 18 1990

Elim 150 26 2004

G2 (Anglican) 160/90 25 2005

Gateway C.F. 150 35 1981

Groves Pentecostal 30 - 2003

Hope Centre Church 15 8 2011

Korean Church 25 5 2004

Living Word Church 50 15 1987

New Hope Ministry

(Portuguese)

20 5 2008

Orthodox (Antioch) 20 3 2004

New churches in York (Continued)Adult Attendance

(Sunday)

Under-18s. Attendance

(Sunday)

Year Founded

Orthodox (Ecumenical Patriarchate)

10 - 1995

Orthodox (Ethiopian - - 2011

Orthodox (Greek) 15 3 1980s

The Rock 250 30 1993

Trinity Church 45/27 6 2009

United 120 80 2005

The Vine Church York

26 5 1999

Vineyard 63 24 2008

Visions/Transcendence Mass

18/90 5 1991

YCC 200 55 1993

YEC 120 25 1982

York City Church (NFI)

110 20 1999

New Churches in York (Continued)

• Since the data presented in table 1 were collected, the following new churches have been established in York:

- Kingdom Life Tabernacle

- Root of Jesse Sanctuary

- United: South Central

• These buildings in which these churches meet, and the activities/ministries in which these churches engage are considered within this study,

Categorisations of York church meeting locations

(Owned) Converted Secular Building

Calvary Chapel (Former terraced house)Elim (Former retail unit)Gateway C. F. (Former school)

United (Former school)Living Word (Former pub)Orthodox (Ecumenical Patriarchate) (Garage)

(Owned) “New” Build

Clifton Moor LEP

(Owned) Converted Former ChurchRock

(Hire) Another Church Building

Chinese Church (St Helen)United: South Central (Spurriergate Centre)Korean Church (Heslington Church)Orthodox (Greek)Orthodox (Antioch)

New Hope (York Baptist & St Columba’s)Visions (Various different church buildings)Orthodox (Ethiopian)

(Hire) School Building

Elim (Archbishop Holgate’s School)G2 (Burnholme Community College)YCC (Burnholme Community College)

YEC (Millthorpe School)Vineyard (St Olave’s School)Christ the Light (Joseph Rowntree Secondary School)

(Hire) Community Centre

The Ark (Foxwood Community Centre)YEC (Clements Hall)Vine Church York (Orchard Park Community Centre)

Rot of Jesse Sanctuary (Poppleton Road Memorial Hall)Hope Church Centre (Clements Hall)

(Hire) Hotel

Kingdom Life Tabernacle (Park Inn) Trinity Church (Hilton Hotel)

(Hire) Other

City Church (Upstage Centre, a theatre based in a former church building)

Trinity Church (Space 109, an art centre based in a former shop)

Results and Observations

• There has been a proliferation of new churches in York.

• These churches are varied in terms of size, meeting location, denomination and activities/ministries.

• York’s churches show startling mobility: 9 of the 29 churches studied have shifted location in the last decade (some more than once!).

Results and Observations

• The most common building categorisation was churches leased from other congregations

Results and Observations• Many of the churches engaged in a variety of typical

activities/ministries: Children’s, youth and student’s ministry, small groups, mid-week prayer meetings and courses for those enquiring about faith.

• Several of the churches also engaged in a variety of more unusual activities: A romance academy, prison ministry, pregnancy crisis support, a dance academy, debt-support ministry and an additional church service on a weekday evening in a licensed bar.

• There was generally no relationship between activities/ministry and building type... With the exception of churches meeting in community centres.

Results and Observations

• Various churches met in community centres, some even met in the same centre!

Results and Observations

• St Anne’s House and Chapel – A church which meets in a garage.

Results and Observations

• Visions – An “alternate worship community” which hosts regular services in York Minster.

Results and Observations• Secularisation versus Sacralisation

Results and Observations

• The Rock of York provided an example of previously ecclesial space being reclaimed by the church community.

Conclusions• Whilst it is true that many churches close and see their buildings used

for secular purposes, it is equally true that previously secular buildings are increasingly being put to church use by new and growing churches.

• Additionally, many existing church buildings house multiple congregations.

• Evidence exists of formerly sacred space being reclaimed by the church community.

• Material church buildings/structures affect, and are affected by, the human subjects which meet in them, in a complex relationship of interdependence.

References

• Braudel, F. (1981). “The structures of everyday life: The limits of the possible”. University of California Press, Los Angeles, USA.

• Brierley, P. (2006). “Pulling out of the nosedive: A contemporary picture of churchgoing”. Trust Media Distribution, Cumbria, UK.

• Brown, C. (2001). “The death of Christian Britain”. Routledge, London, UK.

• Bruce, S. (1995). “Religion in modern Britain”. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK.

• Bruce, S. (2002). “God is dead: Secularization in the west”. Wiley-Blackwell, Oxford, UK.

• Burgess, R. (2012). “African Pentecostal growth: The Redeemed Christian Church of God in Britain”. In D. Goodhew (Ed.), Church growth in Britain 1980 to the present, 127-143, Ashgate, Surrey, UK.

• Cook, C. (2010). “Finding God in a holy place”. Mowbray, London, UK.

• Dant, T. (2005). “Materiality and society”. Open University Press, Buckingham, UK.

References

• Dant, T. (2006). “Materiality and civilization: Things and society”. British Journal of Sociology, 57, 289-308.

• Davie, G. (1990). “Believing without belonging: Is this the future of religion in Britain?”. Social Compass, 37, 455-469.

• Davie, G. (1994). “Religion in Britain since 1945: Believing without belonging”. Blackwell, Oxford, UK.

• Duffuor, A. (2012). “Moving up and moving out?: The expansion of a London-based ‘African Pentecostal’ church”. In D. Goodhew (Ed.), Church growth in Britain 1980 to the present, 145-159, Ashgate, Surrey, UK.

• Goodhew, D. (2012i). “Church growth in Britain, 1980 to the present day”. In D. Goodhew (Ed.), Church growth in Britain 1980 to the present, 3-20, Ashgate, Surrey, UK.

• Goodhew, D. (2012ii). “From the margins to the mainstream: New churches in York”. In D. Goodhew (Ed.), Church growth in Britain 1980 to the present, 179-192, Ashgate, Surrey, UK.

References

• Goodhew, D. (2012iii). “The death and resurrection of Christianity in contemporary Britain”. In D. Goodhew (Ed.), Church growth in Britain 1980 to the present, 253-257, Ashgate, Surrey, UK.

• Judah, S. (2013). “The heavy metal-loving church”. The BBC News website, February 14th 2013. Taken from:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-21425108(Last accessed: 25th March 2013).

• Kauffman, E., Goujon, A., & Skirbekk, V. (2011). “The end of secularization in Europe?: A socio-demographic perspective”. Sociology of Religion, 0, 1-23.

• Kauffman, E. (2012). “London: A rising island of religion in a secular area”. The Huffington Post website, December 22nd 2012. Taken from:http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/eric-kaufmann/london-a-rising-island-of-religion_b_2336699.html

(Last accessed 2nd March 2013).

References

• Glendinning, A. (2011). “Church launches 4pm Sunday pub service for hungover students”. The Manchester Evening News website, January 20th 201. Taken from:http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/church-launches-4pm-sunday-pub-852116

(Last accessed 25th March 2013).

• Marsh, C. (2012). “The diversification of English Christianity: The example of Birmingham”. In D. Goodhew (Ed.), Church growth in Britain 1980 to the present, 193-205, Ashgate, Surrey, UK.

• McLuhan, M. (1964). “Understanding media: The extensions of man”. MIT Press, Massachusetts, USA.

• Miller, D. (2005). “Materiality”. Duke University Press, North Carolina, USA.

• Osgood, H. (2012). “The rise of black churches’ church”. In D. Goodhew (Ed.), Church growth in Britain 1980 to the present, 107-125, Ashgate, Surrey, UK.

• Voas, D. & Crockett, A. (2005). Religion in Britain: Neither believing nor belonging”. Sociology, 39, 11-28.

References

• Wilford, J. (2008). “Toward a morality of materiality: Adorno and the primacy of the object”. Space and Culture, 11, 409-421.

• Wolffe, J. & Jackson, B. (2012).”Anglican resurgence: The Church of England in London”. In D. Goodhew (Ed.), Church growth in Britain 1980 to the present, 23-39, Ashgate, Surrey, UK.

Any Questions?

About the Centre for Church Growth Research (CCGR)• The CCGR is based at Cranmer Hall – a part of St John’s College,

Durham.

• The CCGR was formed in January 2013 in response to the increasing amount of church growth research being conducted at Cranmer Hall.

• The CCGR produces regular research publications on church growth, in addition to producing an annual conference on the topic and offering research-based postgraduate courses at MA and PhD level.

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