Churches could double as banks, or even serve beer. We can’t leave them empty | Simon Jenkins

These mainly listed buildings sit at the heart of almost every community – we are squandering a precious legacy

For the first time, possibly in a millennium, fewer than half of all Britons call themselves Christian. This month’s updating of the 2011 census suggests the latest figure is down from 60% to 51%, with predictions that next year it will be in the 40s. No one yet knows what the pandemic has done to religious faith, but the trend across the western world is the same. At least in wealthier...