Churches to spare? FI

Churches to spare? FI

Churches to spare? - Cultural values and preservation

The subject of the conference is church buildings. Today, it is often said that churches are too expensive to maintain and there are too many of them. Churchyards are also sometimes not regarded as important cultural heritage. Small parishes can find it hard to finance maintenance work and renovations. Some parochial church councils prefer to focus more on religious tasks, climate change mitigation and social responsibility, rather than on building work, antiquarian values, bureaucracy and staff-related matters. The often small numbers of churchgoers at services and few votes in parochial church council elections can be regarded as signs of crisis. The aim of this conference is to achieve deeper insights into these issues and dilemmas, and to gain a better understanding of the types of initiatives that can help preserve the cultural heritage of churches and churchyards at a reasonable and responsible level.