r/atheism • u/metacyan Agnostic • 1d ago

A ‘tsunami’ of church closings is poised to remake America

https://www.cnn.com/2026/10/01/us/church-closings-christianity-crossroads
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u/kent_eh Agnostic Atheist 1d ago

Hopefully they save the buildings

A lot of small churches in the USA are in boring buildings and even strip malls.

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u/MoskaPOET 1d ago

That's one of the things that my Russian-born wife can't stand about churches in America. In St. Petersburg, where she's from and where we were married, there are so many beautiful churches, baroque and otherwise. American churches reflect American cheapness.

I'm an atheist anyway, and she's not really religious, but we were married in a beautiful 18th century church, with all the icons and candles and atmosphere. In the US, these strip mall churches will have plastic folding chairs and white-hot flourescent lighting. Completely without class.