Hundreds of historic houses of worship are being turned into apartments, offices, pubs, spas, shops and, in the case of St. Paul's, an academy to teach circus and theatre skills to underprivileged youths.
Some of the closed churches have been bought by other religious groups — immigrants sometimes turn them into houses of worship for their faiths. Others have been turned into private businesses. At least three have been turned into rock climbing centres — taking advantage of high ceilings and open interiors.The Church of England, founded by King Henry VIII in 1534, is the nation's largest. But it has closed about 1,700 churches since 1970, as attendance has declined and centuries-old buildings have become too costly to maintain. Fewer than 7 per cent of Britons now attend church regularly, according to Christian Research, a private group that studies church issues. Church of England officials say that while the church has 24 million baptized members in England, only about 1 million of them are in the pews on a typical Sunday.
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