A third of the UK’s church buildings cost more money each year than they are able to raise, and only one in five is financially profitable, according to an audit of churches carried out in Cambridgeshire and West Norfolk.
A third of the UK’s church buildings cost more money each year than they are able to raise, and only one in five is financially profitable, according to an audit of churches carried out in Cambridgeshire and West Norfolk.
The report, published today by the Cambridge Judge Business School (CJBS) and the Diocese of Ely, says that churches will need to be useful to communities and find innovative ways to remain financially sustainable if their future is to be secured.
Researchers surveyed all 334 churches in the Diocese of Ely, receiving responses from 73%. They found that churches played a significant role in communities with three-quarters of respondents noting that the closure of their local church would have a «devastating impact.» Church buildings were most valued for providing rites of passage services (78%), being a place for religious worship (72%) and offering a quiet space for reflection, thinking, and meditation (69%).
«Evaluating the success of the church in terms of the amount of funds it raises and the size of its congregation undervalues the contribution that churches and church buildings make to a community,» said lead author Helen Haugh, Associate Professor in Community Enterprise at Cambridge Judge Business School and Research Director at the Cambridge Centre for Social Innovation at Cambridge Judge.
