More and more churches in the US seem to be for sale. As Tanya Basu stated, after a visit to her hometown, this trend is “not just in Chicago, and it’s not a unidirectional trend.” A brief examination of this trend quickly highlights the changing religious demographics in the US.
Some churches are maintaining their primary function as churches, but are going through denominational changes as popularity waxes and wanes. And yet other churches are maintaining their role as places of worship, but are being turned in mosques, synagogues, and the like. However, many former churches are being used for non-religious purposes, such as homes, museums, schools, office buildings, and even restaurants and bars.
One reason for the influx of sales is do the burst of the housing bubble. Ever since, people have not been tithing and donating to their churches as much as they used to, and because churches rely on donations, they are unable to afford their upkeep and lenders are often unwilling to work with them. When it comes to loans, banks do not want to lend to churches due to PR issues, either for fear of people disagreeing with their affiliations or fear of having to collect on or evict a church that defaults on its loan. But that does not mean lending is impossible, and for churches that are unable to secure a loan, or are looking for added income, facility sharing can be a great solution that is advantageous to all parties.
For more information on this topic, please read Tanya Basu’s article “How Church Sales Reflect the Shifting American Demographic.“