The Kirkefondet (Church Foundation), owner of a number of Copenhagen churches scheduled for closure, has stated that it would rather see them demolished than sold or rented out to other faiths than Christianity.
The Buddhist Centre for Wisdom & Compassion has already stated an interest in taking over one of the churches, but it won’t happen, according to Morten Skrubbeltrang, priest and secretary general of the Kirkefondet, who said that he had nothing against seeing the churches employed in some other religious, cultural, or worthy purpose, as long as its within Christian guidelines.
“It’s still hard to imagine our churches being used in any other capacity than that for which they were originally intended so allowing other faiths in definitely isn’t top of the agenda,” he said. “If that was the case we’d rather see them pulled down, but we can’t exclude that other religions could be acceptable in maybe 20-30 years’ time.”
The Kirkefondet has also ruled out the possibility of the churches being transformed into supermarkets or discotheques but acknowledged that they could become luxury apartments. Leading estate agent Jan Fog said many of the churches are in prime location and perfect for property developers.