The first thing you notice when you come to the UK, or pretty much to any place in Europe, is that there are so many amazing stone churches and cathedrals, all still standing after hundreds of years. For example, the picture below shows the Bristol Cathedral, which was founded in 1140 AD. This church was built over hundreds of years, and has looked about as it does now since the 1500s or so. Imagine building a church like this before the days of power tools and diamond saws. When you look at the intricate stone work and the sheer size of the columns and ceiling, it is clear that hundreds of craftsmen must have worked for years to build this. Was it only another job for them, one by a wealthy customer who was sure to pay, or did they feel that they were building a symbol of their faith, an offering to show their devotion to God? Surely they must have hoped that their children and grandchildren would come there to worship for generations and would see it as a symbol of their faith. When I see one of these churches, I can't help but think of the millions of man hours that common people must have devoted to build it, and the wealth that paid for it was the accumulated work of thousands of people who had far less than the poorest among us have now. They gave to build a church of unimaginable quality, complete with glass windows, intricate stone carving, paintings, stone floor, etc... when they lived in cottages with thatched roofs and dirt floors and perhaps couldn't even afford necessities like food and heating.
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It is simply astounding how many of these churches there are. Just about every little town has a stone church standing at its center, beautiful in its design and craftsmanship. Below are a few pictures of a church where David Thomas Thorne, Sr., my 5th great grandfather was christened in 1797. This church is no cathedral but it is still beautifully built and full of fine craftsmanship, all done by hand. In a larger city like Bristol, many towns have grown together so now there are dozens of churches of varying size. We could take a half hour walk from our house and see half a dozen all of which were built before our great grandparents were born.
The other thing that is crazy about all of this, is that most of these churches are only barely used now. In a typical week some are seen by far more tourists than they are by worshipers. Now would be a good time for an anecdote. For example maybe I could tell you about the evening service that I went to a few weeks ago at Wells Cathedral, which was attended by fewer than 20 churchgoers, and how my children were the only people in attendance under 35. That would be great, but I'm an engineer so I prefer solid facts. The "tear fund" study (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/bsp/hi/pdfs/03_04_07_tearfundchurch.pdf) found that, while more than half of the people in the UK self identify as Christian, only about 10% attend weekly. If we relax our standards a bit and are satisfied with once a month attendance, then the percentage of churchgoers increases to 15%. Interestingly, those in the highest social class have a higher prevalence of attending church, 21-22%, but that is a topic for another day.
So what do we make of this country full of empty churches? What caused the change? Each day countless thousands of people pass by these monuments on their way to work, or to get groceries, or they sit on their lawns to enjoy the sunshine. What do they think of their ancestors who gave their lives to build them? Do they think of them as deluded, primitive people who were not too ignorant to know better?
Certainly there have been many ups and downs in the history of religion in the UK. It is hard not to be skeptical when we hear of Henry VIII's exploits. And there are other such stories. For example we visited the ruins of the castle in St. Andrews where Cardinal David Beaton took refuge from the the rising mobs of reformers. A group of them snuck into the castle disguised as masons and mounted an attack. When they forced the door to the cardinal's room they found him trying to hide his gold. He was killed and probably replaced by another. Some time later St. Andrews castle fell into ruins (see below).
There are also many stories of noble people who gave all to try to help people come closer to God. In front of the same St. Andrew's castle we saw a marker on the pavement identifying the place where the reformer George Wishart, was burnt at the stake for his part in the reformation. In front of another church are the initials of Patrick Hamilton who was also burned at the stake for his preaching as a reformer.
It looks like we'll leave here before I ever come to a satisfactory answer regarding what happened to religion in the UK. But as I walk the streets here, I can't help but wonder sometimes if people are really happier now that they pass their Sunday mornings on the lawn rather than in the church. Don't they sense that something is missing? Can any of us be truly happy while believing that life is just a chance of chemistry and biology, that will come to a complete and final end when we take our last breath? Can any amount of entertainment and joking around with friends fill the void?
