The cost of religion?

Liverpoolphil said:
Why do we charge?
Last year, more than two million people came to St Paul’s – 1.2m came in free during worship, another 940,000 paid as sightseers.
At St Paul’s we receive no money from the government, and as such, are fully responsible for raising all the income needed to operate.
We are both an active working church with four services each and every day (five on a Sunday) and an extremely popular visitor destination for people from all round the world.
With a busy staff to support a full schedule of services, concerts, recitals, debates and other events, and responsibility to maintain and enhance one of the world’s most iconic buildings, asking sightseers to pay for entry is a vital part of our annual income. Without this we would not be able to staff the building and galleries and be open for people to visit as they do.
However, we never have and never will charge a penny for worship. All our services are free and we welcome all people. There is also a chapel set aside for private prayer and contemplation throughout every day.


http://www.spectator.co.uk/2016/03/the-price-of-a-cathedral-and-how-deans-pay-it/
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Seeing as the Church of England is worth more than Starbucks or McDonalds, no it should not be charging for an entry fee, well at least an extortionate fee. Oops already posted.
The best cathedral I have seen is the Duomo in Milan, it does not charge a cent to get in, unless you want to go in the crypt of onto the roof which is stunning.
 
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pauldj42 said:
That's the stock answer for all religions, I'm intelligent enough to realise they all need massive amounts of income to look after their estates and wages etc, it's when we get the cries of poverty it sticks in my throat.
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It depends who you get the cry from. And not sure what sort of pleading of poverty you are referring to - maybe that which means that it costs £30 to visit St Pauls?

My own church has just embarked upon a major redevelopment project for our halls, rooms, kitchens, toilets etc. Our facilities are used intensively by the community, non-church organisations and a wide variety of groups, and our 100yr old facilities are knacked. We need to bring them into the 21st century.

What we have is very much a community facility (we ourselves don't actually use our facilities that much). As a congregation we need to raise £150,000 - and as we can't do that ourselves we will be going to the community for their help. Are we pleading poverty?
 
pauldj42 said:
But that's the issue, why are they always asking and do you(general term) want to give money or is it you're expected to give money.

Same as the RC church, you almost felt judged at times on whether you put coins or paper on the collection plate.
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They are asking because the congregation is expected to run and fund general maintenance of the church buildings.

The RC church is a very different beast with a historically very different attitude towards giving - it was one of the main reasons for the reformation!
 
bobmac said:
If there is one almighty God, why does he/she need more than one 'church'?
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All christian churches believe in the 'one holy catholic church' (nothing to to with Roman Catholicism). But within the context of that and biblical teachings, various denominations believe different things to be the most important, and some are very closely aligned. So, for instance, the URC came out of a union of the Presbyterian Church of England and the Congregational Church in England and Wales. This was possible because the liturgies of these churches were closely aligned. And on an ongoing basis the URC and Methodist churches are closely aligned as their liturgies are close - in fact in many communities where congregations have shrunk, the URC and Methodist churches join up.
 
Bunkermagnet said:
And likewise,why does each religion claim to be "the" one religion?

Can only feel religion is nothing but a comforter for the old and nothing but a source of conflict no matter in the World you are.
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On your first question - I am thinking simply that to have a belief and a faith then you have to believe in something pretty much absolutely. And that is OK unless or until one religion tries to impose itself on another.

I disagree with your second point - though yes - it has been a source of conflict - but that is the doing of man not the religion. I believe that we all need some form of spirituality in our life. And for those having a religious belief that spiritual support is provided through their faith in that belief.
 
Church of England should pay for the upkeep. The idea that people should pay for the Church of England`s advertising is madness, someones making bank. No wonder Christianity is in decline.

You would have to pay me £32 to go in though... not my cup of tea.
 
Alex1975 said:
Church of England should pay for the upkeep.

You would have to pay me £32 to go in though... not my cup of tea.
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You are alright then.

That said it is a fascinating place - the Whispering Gallery really does work - and the climb up inside the dome and the view you get from the top are awesome - and the graves of the famous in the crypt.

And just to note that the best deal I can find for The Shard on the day is £62 for two - in advance it's £52. So basically the same pricing as St Paul's. And for that you get a view.

With St Paul's you get a lot, lot more than just a view
 
SwingsitlikeHogan said:
You are alright then.

That said it is a fascinating place - the Whispering Gallery really does work - and the climb up inside the dome and the view you get from the top are awesome - and the graves of the famous in the crypt.

And just to note that the best deal I can find for The Shard on the day is £62 for two - in advance it's £52. So basically the same pricing as St Paul's. And for that you get a view.

With St Paul's you get a lot, lot more than just a view
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You are into it hu?
 
In Barcelona I visited the sagrida familia (spelling?). Don't remember what they charged but there was a cost. A very interesting building to visit and I didn't grudge paying. Of course they were still trying to scrape up the cash to finish it...

I particularly liked the stained glass windows and the giant parachuting Jesus!
 
SwingsitlikeHogan said:
Oh yes - I love architecture and history - putting aside the religious stuff (as it happens for my Protestant mind St Pauls is way too fancy and gilded as a church :) )
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St Pauls is stunning , as is Westminster Abbey - there are some cracking churches etc in Europe - in Cyprus there were some spectacular historic buildings - lots of history.

Mykkos Monestry was full or artefacts from thousands of years back and through the Persian Times

Think it was about £20 to go in - just a bit more expensive than St Paul's
 
Sagrada Familia. Totally bonkers but glorious. Worth every penny, but watch out some horror doesn't pick your pocket whilst you are looking up. Essential visit at some stage in your life.
 
SwingsitlikeHogan said:
It depends who you get the cry from. And not sure what sort of pleading of poverty you are referring to - maybe that which means that it costs £30 to visit St Pauls?

My own church has just embarked upon a major redevelopment project for our halls, rooms, kitchens, toilets etc. Our facilities are used intensively by the community, non-church organisations and a wide variety of groups, and our 100yr old facilities are knacked. We need to bring them into the 21st century.

What we have is very much a community facility (we ourselves don't actually use our facilities that much). As a congregation we need to raise £150,000 - and as we can't do that ourselves we will be going to the community for their help. Are we pleading poverty?
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If it's a community facility i have no issue with you charging people to hire it, that makes sense, but if the Council run a sports hall then they fund the maintenance not the members, why are the congregation raising the money, if your building needs it, central coffers should be paying.
 
pauldj42 said:
If it's a community facility i have no issue with you charging people to hire it, that makes sense, but if the Council run a sports hall then they fund the maintenance not the members, why are the congregation raising the money, if your building needs it, central coffers should be paying.
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The council also charge people to use the hall and use money given from the government and income from charges and rent from people using the hall - money doesn't appear from nowhere - it will all come from our pockets in some way

Central Coffers within churches are made up mainly from assests as opposed to a big pot of money hidden somewhere that they can all dip into.

We will all benefit in some way from these historic buildings - whether that be from the tourist industry which just keeps growing , or a place where people can learn about our past or just somewhere for people to take time out and to reflect. The UKs history and heritage is very important to our lives and none of it comes free - any church maybe be rich in assests but they need a lot of funding to provide the services they do and it's only fair that people that use the facilities help fund the upkeep.

But as with everything - there is the choice not to pay and visit these sites if people don't agree with having to pay.

£16 - £18 to go into St Paul's and be amazed at all the history inside for me was money well spent - for others it won't be
 
Tashyboy said:
Seeing as the Church of England is worth more than Starbucks or McDonalds, no it should not be charging for an entry fee, well at least an extortionate fee. Oops already posted.
The best cathedral I have seen is the Duomo in Milan, it does not charge a cent to get in, unless you want to go in the crypt of onto the roof which is stunning.
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I think Salisbury is the loveliest of Cathedrals, it is the only medieval one in the UK that was built completely in one period.
 
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