In northern Essen, Germany, the mid-20th-century St. Marien church, a Brutalist structure noted for its dark brick facade and stained glass, has become a focal point for artistic innovation amid its impending demolition. Since June, tens of thousands have visited the site as part of Manifesta 16 Ruhr, a roving biennial art exhibition featuring installations such as a performance interpreting bird song, sculptures crafted from overturned plastic shopping carts, and a video piece titled “Sleeping Jesus.” The event concludes in October, after which the church is scheduled to be torn down.
St. Marien’s fate is emblematic of a broader phenomenon across Western Europe. More than 20,000 churches in Germany alone are expected to be abandoned within the next five to ten years, according to Hedwig Fijen, director of Manifesta. This trend reflects declining religious participation and shifting social dynamics across the region. Lilian Grootswagers-Theuns, president of the advisory board for the Belgium-based network Future for Religious Heritage, described the pace of church closures as accelerating rapidly, with similar patterns observed in countries including Sweden, Spain, and Italy.
The decline in church attendance dates back to the mid-20th century and has been driven by evolving social norms, demographic changes, and scandals within religious institutions. A 2020 report by Pew Research Center found that about two-thirds of Europeans identified as Christian, marking a 9 percent decrease over the preceding decade. Many people raised in Christian traditions now describe themselves as religiously unaffiliated.
With congregations shrinking, numerous parishes have merged or sold their church buildings to private owners for conversion into residences, hotels, or other uses. In some cases, communities have mobilized to preserve these historic structures by repurposing them as cultural venues, health centers, or tourist attractions. Notwithstanding reduced religious participation, many Europeans value these buildings for their architectural significance and potential as communal spaces.
“These buildings have been places that provide a sense of social security—people are helping each other, visiting elderly people, offering support to the poor and immigrants,” said Grootswagers-Theuns, who first engaged with the issue in the Netherlands in 2005 when a local church faced closure.
Manifesta 16 Ruhr’s projects in deconsecrated churches throughout the Ruhr region seek to reimagine these spaces in ways that resonate with contemporary communities. Originally rebuilt after World War II to anchor neighborhood life, these churches now face obsolescence. Since 1950, church attendance in West Germany has dropped from over 90 percent to approximately 50 percent. Curators have proposed diverse conversions, including art installations, tea gardens, indoor beaches, and even sports courts, with many proposals developed collaboratively with local residents.
“The need for communal space is more and more urgent,” Fijen said. “The discussion about what to do with those spaces all over Europe is increasingly urgent.”
The Netherlands, having experienced secularization earlier than many neighbors, already sees many former churches adapted as cultural or commercial venues, including night clubs, breweries, exhibition halls, health centers, and bookstores. For example, a Dominican church in Maastricht was converted into a bookstore in 2006.
In Scandinavia, where many churches remain state-owned, officials aim to maintain these “zombie churches” as public heritage sites by repurposing them for community use, according to Henrik Lindblad, a heritage researcher at Uppsala University.
Even in predominantly Catholic southern European countries like Italy, Portugal, and Spain, similar transformations are underway. Rolando Volzone, an architect and researcher at the Institute of Medieval Studies in Portugal, highlighted historical precedents such as the 19th-century dissolution of Catholic religious orders, which led to former monasteries and convents being converted into hospitals, schools, or private homes. He emphasized ongoing efforts to find “public reuse” solutions that respect the spiritual and communal significance of these buildings.
As Europe’s religious landscape continues to evolve, initiatives to adapt former churches reflect a desire to preserve both cultural heritage and social cohesion by creating new shared spaces for increasingly secular communities.