It’s no secret that religiosity in Canada is declining — but when faith-based buildings disappear, it’s not just congregations that lose out. Communities do too.
That’s why a new report from the Canadian Urban Institute (CUI) explores the broader social impacts of Canada’s faith-based spaces and calls for them to be re-envisioned as community hubs.
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Citing data originally published by the National Trust for Canada, the report notes that nearly a third of the country’s 27,000 faith buildings are expected to close permanently within the next decade. The United Church of Canada, in particular, has seen congregations shutting down at a rate of more than one per week.
Places of worship are considered “third spaces,” community hubs where people gather outside of home and work. Churches host everything from childcare programs to Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, and from community theatre groups to emergency food banks. According to the CUI report, more than 900 non-profit organizations in southern Ontario alone use faith buildings, and 84 percent of them say they have no realistic alternative if those spaces shut down. Nationally, faith buildings account for over 450-million square feet of space, more than 50 times the total floor space of all urban libraries in Canada. Losing these venues would significantly erode the country’s informal social infrastructure.
“I think it’s important to recognize that these buildings have long been used for civic purposes, functions that go beyond worship itself,” says Leandro Santos, author of the report. “If we’re not careful and cognizant of the risks of this loss, we might find our town centres, downtowns and main streets without the services needed to help the most vulnerable members of our society.”
Santos describes faith spaces as “resilience hubs” that can offer support during emergencies and promote overall community strength and preparedness. They can — and often do — provide critical resources such as emergency shelter, climate-controlled environments during extreme weather events, communication hubs and spaces for distributing essential supplies. More importantly, they create space for people to connect — to borrow tools, organize childcare, host community meals and build relationships that can make neighbourhoods stronger and more cohesive.
The report highlights the concept of the “halo effect,” a term that describes the positive impact of faith-based institutions on their surrounding communities. This includes economic contributions, support services and social cohesion. Research from the Halo Calculator — developed by Cardus, a Canadian think tank — estimates that for every dollar a faith group spends, the community receives $3.39 in social benefit, adding up to an estimated $18.2 billion nationally.
“If municipal governments had to recreate the services lost from the closure of churches or faith buildings, it might not be possible without significant transfers from higher orders of government,” Santos says.
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Still, this isn’t just a story about loss. The report lays out solutions too. It calls for faith spaces to be reimagined as multi-use hubs — places that could double as affordable housing, cafés, cultural centres or climate resilience spaces. That would require changing zoning rules, investing real money (for example, through dedicated municipal grants or heritage conservation funds) and getting governments, planners, congregations and community groups to collaborate.
Some churches are already taking this route. In Winnipeg, All Saints Anglican Church partnered with the University of Winnipeg Community Renewal Corporation to turn part of its property into mixed-market affordable housing.
“Nonprofits and charities depend on churches for affordable space. If we do nothing, the real estate market will turn them into condos,” says Rev. Graham Singh of Relèven, an organization working closely with churches to adapt their spaces.
Singh says faith leaders have a responsibility to make sure these buildings keep serving the community, even as their original purpose shifts.
United Church minister Rev. Russell Daye says the social fabric across North America is already under serious strain. “Its fibres are regularly tearing,” he says. The disappearance of thousands of faith communities and third spaces isn’t just a symptom of that crisis, it’s part of the cause. At the same time, Daye believes faith spaces could also be part of the solution.
“It is imperative that governments at all levels respond to this crisis by rethinking development and planning processes that make it so difficult for faith communities to renew their site,” says Daye, who serves Wilmot United in Fredericton, N.B. “The provision of support and co-ordination for faith communities would also be an enlightened use of government resources.”
Organized religion may be fading in Canada, but the civic role of its buildings doesn’t have to. As churches face uncertain futures, what’s really on the line isn’t just tradition or ritual. It’s the neighbourhood hubs that hold communities together.
“There aren’t many places left where you can just exist without having to pay for something or be part of a private space,” says Santos. “Faith buildings are one of the few third spaces we still have — and they’re an opportunity to keep that kind of community space alive.”
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Paniz Vedavarz is a Broadview summer intern.
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I wish this article had gone deeper. The complexities of church building closures are significant. The dynamics of congregational closure and disbanding or amalgamation aside, it is very easy to say that church buildings should keep serving their community. However, that statement ignores the “Yes, but…” factor.
Many church buildings which are closing are over a century old and have suffered from decades of deferred maintenance. They are energy inefficient, not readily accessible or made accessible and are governed by restricting historical and architectural designations which make repurposing complex and expensive.
The suggestion that municipal or heritage funds be used to refurbish churches belies the fact that municipal governments, particularly small municipalities, have few resources, are constrained by provincial policies and laws and have much more significant issues to deal with than putting money into old, expensive buildings. In Ontario, the province removed generous grants to historical buildings decades ago. In an era of competing priorities, it is unlikely to restore those funds.
Since I left active ministry and became a re-engaged pensioner, I have sold, as a Trustee, three church buildings and a manse. One was repurposed as a youth centre held by a non-church, non-profit organization, one was converted to a home and one sits derelict by a highway. The manse was sold into the housing market. I expect this will continue.
There are many options available to congregations and regions with surplus property. Even selling to condo builders adds to the housing market. Looking to government to refurbish community spaces may be a feel good option, but is not the universal solution we think it might be.