Posted by Gothic Ghoul Go away, troll.

Thank you for your cogent response. I am offering a viewpoint that is different than yours and this makes you intolerant and uncomfortable. Loving being free over here, sounds like you live with a lot of fear.

CMF

Posted by CanadianMetalFan Thank you for your cogent response. I am offering a viewpoint that is different than yours and this makes you intolerant and uncomfortable. Loving being free over here, sounds like you live with a lot of fear. CMF

There's a great thread in Other about you, it's a damn shame you can't see it.

Posted by Gothic Ghoul There's a great thread in Other about you, it's a damn shame you can't see it.

Aww important enough to warrant my own thread already! I am positive you are just recommending me for full membership. That I triggered you I suppose is another possibility. ;)

CMF

Posted by CanadianMetalFan Aww important enough to warrant my own thread already! I am positive you are just recommending me for full membership. That I triggered you I suppose is another possibility. ;) CMF

lol

It's a bit early for the Yacht Club to make an appearance, don't you think?

Posted by 2Xplorations Lots of smaller rural churches could not keep up with routine maintenance for lack of funding and fell into disrepair, when the roof goes well you know the rest so go explore one.

I've noticed more parish centers closing down too. They usually functioned as private (usually catholic) elementary schools a few decades back before being closed due to lack of funding and/or students. Nowadays many of them are only used once a week for religious education classes, but a combination of decreased church attendance and maintenance issues will close these with time. For example, the one I had Wednesday night Confirmation classes in as a kid is still open, but all the water fountains inside are undrinkable due to high lead levels, and the church doesn't have the money to replace the pipes. Another one in my hometown was shuttered due to water damage and demolished a year or two back.


Find a decent sized, still active Catholic church in a suburban community, and in my experience a partially or completely closed parish center won't be far away. They are usually right next door, and have similar architecture to the one below (Church of the Resurrection Parish Center in Wausau, WI before its demolition two years back). While some may still be in partial use, it's something to keep an eye on in the next few years.

Posted by Aran It's a bit early for the Yacht Club to make an appearance, don't you think? I've noticed more parish centers closing down too. They usually functioned as private (usually catholic) elementary schools a few decades back before being closed due to lack of funding and/or students. Nowadays many of them are only used once a week for religious education classes, but a combination of decreased church attendance and maintenance issues will close these with time. For example, the one I had Wednesday night Confirmation classes in as a kid is still open, but all the water fountains inside are undrinkable due to high lead levels, and the church doesn't have the money to replace the pipes. Another one in my hometown was shuttered due to water damage and demolished a year or two back. Find a decent sized, still active Catholic church in a suburban community, and in my experience a partially or completely closed parish center won't be far away. They are usually right next door, and have similar architecture to the one below (Church of the Resurrection Parish Center in Wausau, WI before its demolition two years back). While some may still be in partial use, it's something to keep an eye on in the next few years. click to view

It's a valid thread but I saw the flood waters rising...
lol, wanted to post the first sinking ark

From a personal prospective, as one of 4 children only one them turned into a church going whatever.
It wasn't me.

I think churches are the new asylums.

Posted by fiftyone_eggs I think churches are the new asylums.

That sounds fairly accurate.

Posted by fiftyone_eggs I think churches are the new asylums.

That would be the convents... many were/are huge.
I splored a big one in West Chester PA in the 70's.

Truth, science, and freedom of thought aren't necessarily mutually exclusive of religion. I'm sure there are extremes that make both sides look unfavorable but there are a lot of decent explorers, including on UER, who are religious. That said, there's no doubt the shifts and changing dynamics of the populations, particularly in Europe and the US, will lead to more churches being abandoned.

Posted by Cross- there's no doubt the shifts and changing dynamics of the populations, particularly in Europe and the US, will lead to more churches being abandoned.

Not so sure shifts of demographics have led to more church closures.
In the US, the influx of Latin American immigrants has done more to save the Catholic church from abandonment than anything else that has happened in the last decade. Besides, adding to the population doesn't cause church closures. That's just bad math.

Perhaps it's a matter of semantics but demographics could relate to a large variety of factors in population including age. As older more religious populations die off, certain churches' congregations have dwindled, leaving them in danger of bankruptcy and eventual sale or abandonment. But there are other factors as well that show a broader picture. Younger religious people tend to go towards non-traditional churches which meet in a variety of creative locations, older buildings are expensive to keep up, and, as you said, the influx of a variety of cultural and ethnic people have kept certain institutions stronger than they normally would have. While the populations in certain areas are becoming statistically less religious, in other areas it's growing. Regardless, I'm not disagreeing with you on your broader point, just giving a counter point that religion is a positive thing in many people's lives(whereas it looks to be the opposite in yours) and isn't necessarily a counter to common sense, intelligence, and freedom. Perhaps all of this would be better in the religion forum.

Oh boy I can't wait to learn about all these great urbex locat... oh, nevermind, abandon thread.

Posted by DescentOnARope Oh boy I can't wait to learn about all these great urbex locat... oh, nevermind, abandon thread.

Are great urbex locations something you normally get from UER?

Posted by blackhawk You underestimate the stupidity of the unguided masses...

I agree so strongly with this quote. At least the religious are giving us more to explore.